The Shadow Siren I: Project Nyx
by Queen-of-Ice101
Summary: Most children learn acedemics and sports. Bryanna is different, after losing her parents and being ripped away from the only family left, she learns a very different lesson. Life is hell and she will never escape HYDRA. Forced to undergo terrifying experiments and gaining power she thought mere myths, Bryanna is desperate for a way out. A way SHIELD just might provide.
1. Prologue

Hello wonderful readers!

So I now present to you my second Avengers fanfic!

Something that I commonly do with fanfiction is write OC stories that interconnect. The OC's crossover into each other's stories and things that take place in one story has a effect in the other story. This is what I'm going to do in this particular story, this will be in the same world as my other Avengers OC story The Blood of Ancients.

As always, both stories can be read individually without reading the other one, but reading both would allow you to have a understanding of the realms and tiny references that will be made:)

This particular story was borne out of me trying to figure out something for The Blood of Ancients and I loved the idea enough that I decided to write this! It's going to be a fun story to write and I have yet to find a story that has a similar idea so I'm looking forward to hearing what you all think!

Disclaimer:

I don't own Marvel

* * *

 ** _Prologue_**

* * *

The mortals on earth believe that Thor was the first non-human to ever come down to earth, the first non-human to have a direct effect on "justice" as they call it.

But he wasn't.

He was the first to show his face to the masses, the first to introduce himself to the world, but he was not the first to walk the surface of our realm.

The first meeting between human and inhuman to change the world as we know it was done under the cover of darkness. When a moral organization that thrived on evil and a powerful being who desired power met and agreed to a trade, they effected the nine realms in a way that would not soon be forgotten.

And when payment was served for a trade made between these beings, the wheel of fate was set in motion, and lives were changed forever.

* * *

"You brought what I asked for didn't you? Give it over!"

A tall male stood in front of a long table, his iridescent eyes that constantly shifted between shades of yellow and orange gazing at the human at the other end.

"Watch your tongue mortal. I may be working with you for...mutual benefit, but I will not tolerate disrespect and you will regret it if you dare to treat me like a equal. I am the King of the Dręvníyę now, and I am deserving of your undying respect and fear."

The humans bristled before the leader relaxed and straightened.

"Of course, my apologies Baron Von'Holden."

The Baron gave a sharp nod before withdrawing a flat black leather case from his cloak and sliding it across the table to the mortals who grabbed it eagerly and gently opened the lid, revealing a syringe, needle and vial or glowing red blood.

"One vial of blood from one of my kind, just as requested. There is great power in his family line, but the actual dręvníyę I withdrew the blood from is not a very powerful Mage at all. This should prevent your human from dying the moment the blood is injected into it's veins."

"This is perfect." The leader breathed, running a finger over the lip of the case.

"You should have asked for a different payment. This one will only be the cause of your downfall." The Baron predicted ominously.

"No, this shall be exactly what we want. We even have found the perfect person for this...test."

The Baron raised a brow.

"Oh?"

The human gave a greedy smirk.

"This week a...shocking death occurred. Someone who was extremely powerful and influential in our world. He has left behind two children, a twenty one year old son and a eight year old daughter. The only person willing to care for the son wants nothing to do with the little girl, which leaves her open for the taking."

There was a moment of silence before the Baron spoke up.

"You are a fool. Take someone who lives in obscurity, do not choose someone who is known by many. You seemed somewhat intelligent for a human, so why would you take a risk like that?"

The man's eyes narrowed and his lip curled slightly.

"Because, Stark was someone who made my life very difficult with the kinds of weapons he provided to the government and to "justice"."

The man's face then brightened as a dark smile spread across it.

"But our lovely...friend killed that man and his wife and now I shall take their innocent little daughter and use her to show the might of HYDRA!"

* * *

So what did you think? Reviews are welcome! Flames shall be laughed at, posted for others to laugh at, and ignored as I continue the story.


	2. Ice Cream!

Hey everyone!

So here is the first chapter, introducing Bryanna to you guys. She's been a interesting character to write these first chapters for since at the back of my mind I'm always thinking about my plans for her and how her personality will change and develop over the course of the story. I have grand plans for where I'm going to take this, and I'd love to hear what you all think of this intro chapter.

I know it's moving a tad slow, and the next couple chapter will as well, but I promise things will pick up soon!

Enjoy the chapter!

* * *

 **Ice Cream!**

* * *

 _Several Days Earlier:_

Loud music blared from speakers in a massive garage as the owner of said garage lay beneath a car tinkering and humming along to the AC•DC song blasting from his speakers, enjoying the cool breeze that blew in from the open door.

However the somewhat lazy atmosphere of the garage was abruptly broken by the sound of a car pulling into the driveway and a car door slamming.

"Toooooonnyyy!"

At the sound of the voice Tony Stark gave a push and slid easily out from under the car, sitting up and turning to the eight year old girl that was running towards him with a grin.

"Hey Bryanna, have a good time on the girls trip with mom?"

The brown haired, brown eyed girl beamed at Tony, rushing up to him and wrapping small arms around his neck, hugging him tightly and ignored the grease she was getting on her clothes.

Tony laughed and wrapped his arms around her back, standing to his feet and smirking as she squawked in indignation at not being able to stand on her own two feet.

"Tony! Not fair!"

"Now why on earth would I be fair when I can tease my darling little sister?"

Bryanna pushed her lower lip out in a adorable pout and Tony laughed again before playfully spinning around and then setting her on her feet.

When she stepped back the front of her clothes had black streaks on them.

"Bryanna Stark! Just wait until your mother sees what you've done to your clothes." Her nanny gasped, bustling over and brushing fussily at the girls clothes.

"Stop that! I'm not a little kid anymore!"

Bryanna shoved the nanny away, glaring at the woman for a moment before turning back to her brother eagerly.

"You told me you had a surprise for me when I got back, can I see it now?"

"So impatient." Tony mock tutted.

"Tony!"

He laughed and shook his head.

"I need to change into clean clothes and wash off the grease on my face and hands, and you should change as well. Then we can go."

His little sister let out a cheer before bolting into the house, harried nanny calling after her as she chased the energetic eight year old.

Tony watched after with a affectionate grin and shake of his head before he turned to see his mother enter the garage calmly, glancing around before turning to look at Tony.

"Did her report card come in while we were gone?" She questioned, voice soft.

Tony sighed and nodded, going over to the sink to wash his hands before walking over to a shelf filled with books and pulling a brown envelope off the top.

"I managed to grab it before dad could see it. I'll be taking Bryanna out to get some ice cream and pick out a new doll outfit while you show dad and calm him down from nuclear level explosion."

His mother winced as she accepted the offered envelope and opened it up to withdraw the paper inside.

"That bad huh?"

Tony sighed and shook his head, leaning back against the counter as he watched her hesitantly look down at the paper.

"Not at all, in fact compared to every other normal kid in the system she's a stellar student. Only one B and the rest A's. She's actually a couple of concepts ahead of the rest of the class."

His mothers shoulders slumped.

"But Howard will not accept anything less then perfect. You graduated MIT at seventeen and showed absolute brilliance in all of your subjects, following in your father's footsteps with your aptitude for building, one day I believe you will surpass him even, and yet he was still not satisfied. Bryanna is very smart, but her IQ and intelligence is average and your father just cannot except that Bryanna will never be like him or you."

Tony sighed again and nodded before looking over at the clock.

"I should go rinse off and change so that by the time she's finished I'll be ready as well."

His mother nodded distractedly, still looking over the report card as Tony left the room.

* * *

Bryanna, now dressed in unstained clothes, was busily doing up her shoes when she heard the front door open downstairs and her eyes lit up as she hurriedly finished before bursting out of her room and running down the stairs into the kitchen to see her father placing his briefcase down on the counter.

"Dad!"

She ran over and bounced around him eagerly, her hair swinging in every which direction.

"Hello Bryanna, did you enjoy your trip?" Her father asked, his tone cool as he opened his briefcase and pulled a stapled together stack of paper out.

"Yeah! I got to go swimming with the dolphins in the ocean, one even let me pet it!"

"That's nice."

Bryanna stopped bouncing around as she looked up at her father, her excited and hopeful expression fading as she realized that she hadn't heard a word she had said.

As usual.

"Well...I'm going to go find Tony." She mumbled turning away back towards the stairs.

"Mhmm."

Bryanna's head drooped and she walked away, the bounciness in her step gone.

"Looks like you beat me down." Came the teasing voice from above her.

Bryanna looked up in surprise to see Tony grinning down at her as he took the steps down two at a time before reaching the bottom next to her. She smiled up at him half heartedly and a slight look of concern washed over his face before he glanced up at the sound of shuffling papers and noticed their father.

Then he sighed before ruffling her hair.

"C'mon Bri, let's get going."

"Your going somewhere?"

Both Bryanna and Tony turned at the sound of their father's voice. He had for once turned away from his work to look over at his children and his gaze was piercing.

"I'm taking Bryanna out for a little bit. We'll be back soon." Tony said, his voice tense.

"And where do you get the idea that you can just waltz out of here with your little sister without making sure she is allowed to leave?"

"I cleared this with mom before she and Bryanna left for the girls thing. Permission has already granted. Mom needs to talk to you anyway, so we'll just head out."

Before their father could say anything Tony rushed Bryanna out if the kitchen and down into the garage, passing their mother with nothing more then a called goodbye before they reached Tony's car.

He reached behind and opened the back passenger door, bowing with a goofy grin.

"Your carriage awaits milady."

Bryanna couldn't help but giggle and she made sure to curtsy low.

"Why thank you kind sir."

Then she hopped into the fancy car, reaching down and petting the leather seats with glee as he closed the door and moved to hop into the drivers seat. Bryanna did up her seatbelt as he started the car and did up his own seatbelt.

Bryanna wiggled impatiently in her seat as her older brother moved the car out of the garage and started down the driveway before pulling through the gates to their mansion and onto the main road.

"So where do you want to go for ice cream?" Tony inquired as he navigated traffic.

"I wanna go to Misty's Diner! She has the best ice cream in the world! And we haven't gone in two whole weeks!"

"Misty's it is then! And that's perfect cause we're only a block over from the sky train which I know you love to ride, and we can take the sky train to the malls."

Bryanna nodded eagerly and they chatted about random topics such as the older woman they had seen at the red light with the really fat chinchilla and the funny prank call he had pulled with his friends.

"Here we are!" He finally said as they pulled into the parking lot.

They got out of the cars before heading into the diner where a kind looking older woman was busy wiping tables. At the sound of the bells over the door ringing she looked up only to smile at the sight of the two siblings.

"Hello Bryanna, Tony. Have a seat anywhere you like."

"Thanks Misty." Tony said warmly.

This was their sibling hangout, with a ice cream parlour a few streets away being their other stop so they knew the women who owned the diner really well.

Bryanna grabbed Tony's arm and dragged him over to a booth, dropping down onto the red seats with a grin.

"What can I get you darlins?"

"Ice cream!" Bryanna cheered loudly, making both Tony and Misty laugh.

"And don't forget the extra large order of fries." Tony added.

"Oh yeah, that to!"

Misty smiled and hurried off to the kitchen.

"Comin' right up!"

Bryanna grinned wider before turning back to Tony who was watching her in amusement.

"So what sort of things did you do on the trip?"

Bryanna's face lit up as she thought about everything she had done with her mom."

"Well we got to the hotel and went up to our room to see that we had a ocean view room, and the sheets and blankets were really soft! They were made out of special silk that's native to the area! Then once we were unpacked we went downstairs to try this really neat pomegranate/mango smoothie that actually tasted good even though I didn't think it would. Ooh! And we explored, finding the neatest little hidden pool cove in a area of the group with less traffic and there were a couple of other girls in there that played a bit with me when we went down to swim for a little bit!"

Tony nodded, bracing his arms on the table as he listened intently to her story.

"Was there a second pool?"

"Yeah! It was huge! It had a upper level and then the only way to get down to the second one was by this really neat glowing slide that had a clear bottom that would glow and have colour shoot through it!"

"A glowing slide? Nice!"

Bryanna nodded eagerly.

"So when did you go swimming with the dolphins?" He enquired, making Bryanna blink.

"I never told you about that."

He grinned.

"No, but you told dad and I overheard."

Bryanna's face brightened at the genuine curiosity in his voice.

"It was amazing! We went out on this boat into the ocean and mom and I went swimming with a couple of other people on the boat and as we were swimming a pod of dolphins noticed us and came over to us. They kind of swam around us and splashed us sometimes as they chattered. Then when I swam a few feet away from the others to look at a sparking fish I felt a nudge and I looked over to see one of the dolphins had come over! It even let me reach up and pet it before it swam away!"

Tony grinned at her apparent excitement as she talked about her trip.

"It sounds like you had a amazing time."

"I did!"

* * *

An hour later of almost non-stop chatter and eating of food they were finished and with a pleasant farewell to Misty the two of them headed down the street, walking towards the mall district.

As they walked Bryanna thought about the way their dad had behaved with her and then Tony earlier.

"Tony?"

"Hmm?"

"Why doesn't dad act very...dadish with us? He doesn't hug us or come to school events or have nice conversations with us or smile at us or-...well anything really. Except discipline us when we've done something wrong, or when he thinks we have. He does that."

Tony sighed and looked down at Bryanna who's brows were furrowed.

"I don't know Bri. I've never understood. Mom says that what he saw during the war, even though he wasn't on the front lines, the things he did see and the friends he lost, caused him to pull back and he was never really good with kids so he just doesn't know how to treat us."

The corners of her mouth turned downwards and she studied the pavement intently.

"Does he...not love us?"

Tony looked over at her, startled by her vulnerable tone and question. He looked down at her head for a moment before sighing again.

"He does love us, I know he does. Somewhere, somehow, he does love us. I just don't know if he's aware of that. He's not a bad person, just a very cold one."

Bryanna nodded, but no smile returned to her face. Tony watched her for a moment, her smile and bouncy nature not returning before giving a soft shake of his head and reaching down, grabbing her hand and swinging their joint arms between them in a playful manor.

"Now, why are we talking about this stuff? This is our annual "awesome siblings hang out day"! Serious conversation has no place in our day! Don't make me give you the set punishment for those caught breaking the goofy and silly code of "awesome siblings hang out day" and give you a noogie!"

Bryanna's head shot up at the mention of noogie and she shook her head furiously.

"I won't break the code! Just don't give me a noogie!" She gasped in mock horror.

Tony gave his best impression of a regal and stern expression.

"You had better not."

Bryanna broke down into laughter and Tony joined in, a grin on his face. The rest of the walk was cheerful, their arms swinging widely between them as they worked together to count all the awesome cars that passed by.

Once they got to the mall she dragged a mock protesting Tony to the doll section where she picked out a new outfit for her doll. Tony watched as Bryanna hovered over two different outfits, a dark pink evening dress and a black suit for her boy doll, staring in concentration at them.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to decide which doll needs a new outfit more. Tony or Cynthia."

Her brother blinked.

"You named a doll Tony? Why?"

Bryanna glanced up at him.

"Well I only have one boy doll but I have lots of girl dolls and in order for them to all have a date to different functions my boy doll needs to go out with all of him, which would make him a playboy. Your also a playboy and have had lots of girlfriends and your handsome like the boy doll so the doll's name is Tony."

Tony stared at her as she went back to picking which outfit she wanted and he couldn't help but roll his eyes and sigh. She named her playboy doll after him because she thought he was a playboy. Unbelievable.

"Really Bri?"

His sister turned back to him in confusion.

"What?"

Tony gave a exasperated snort.

"Nevermind."

Bryanna nodded and looked over at the clothing for a moment longer before picking up the suit and standing.

"I pick this one! The other one can wait for another day." She proclaimed before turning away and briskly marching down the isle.

Tony glanced down at the dress before smiling and picking it up, concealing it behind his back as he followed his baby sister down the isle towards the till.

They reached the till and Bryanna handed the outfit to the cashier who scanned it before turning expectantly to Tony.

"Is that all?"

He smirked and causally handed the dress box to the lady.

"Nah, add this as well. That'll be it."

While the the cashier scanned and then bagged both doll outfits Bryanna turned to Tony with slightly wide eyes.

"You didn't have to do that! I have lots of girl doll clothes!"

He grinned, that was one of the most special traits of Bryanna. She never asked for stuff from him or their parents. She was always satisfied with what she was given and didn't push for more. That made spoiling her with things like this even more enjoyable.

"Well Tony's new date really should have some new clothes to match Tony." He said with a wink.

Bryanna positively beamed as she reached over and hugged Tony tightly.

"Thank you."

He gave a affectionate smile and returned the hug, ruffling her hair.

"No problem."

* * *

So what did you think? Reviews are welcome! Flames shall be laughed at, posted for others to laugh at, and ignored as I continue the story.


	3. Grounded

Hello wonderful readers!

Thank you so much for your support so far, it is greatly appreciated:) Here is the next chapter for you all to enjoy!

* * *

 **Grounded**

* * *

A extremely bored Bryanna sat at her school desk, eyes glazed over as she listened to the substitute drone on and on about a subject they had covered two months ago for "review".

As the teacher blathered, Bryanna finally gave up pretending to be listening and joined the majority of other students who were doodling and writing notes on their notebooks.

That was the other thing. Grade three students being forced to take notes because the substitute was a "no nonsense teacher"? Stupid if you asked her. She sighed and crossed her arms on her desk before laying her head down on her arms.

"Miss Stark!"

Bryanna's head shot up and she looked at the teacher with a startled expression.

"Yes ma'am?"

"This is a classroom, not your bedroom. Sit up and listen."

Bryanna sighed again before sitting up and slumping against the back of her chair.

"Miss Stark, that is not sitting up. You will sit straight and join the other students in respectfully listening and further learning what I am teaching you so that when future concepts are introduced you are able to understand."

"But I already-"

"Did I ask you to speak? I would assume you wish to graduate school, and to do so you will need to pay attention in class."

Bryanna's brows furrowed and her jaw stuck out mulishly.

"Yeah well I doubt that paying attention in this class to material we learned months ago will help me graduate. Might put me to sleep though."

The substitute gasped and the students laughed. The woman glared at Bryanna before raising a shaking arm to point at the door, her double chins wiggling as she hissed,

"Go to the principals office! Now!"

* * *

"...and that is why your daughter is here right now. If this was a regular occurrence I might give a in school discipline but since this isn't normal behaviour for Bryanna I believe it would be best to leave it in your and your wife's capable hands." The principle concluded.

Bryanna's father and mother sat across from the principles desk while Bryanna sat next to her mother.

"Thank you principle Dolen. I believe I will take Bryanna home early today if you don't mind."

"Not at all! Bryanna is completely up to date with all her studies so missing class is no problem."

Her father nodded and Bryanna stood, leaving the room to go retrieve her backpack and other things before rejoining her parents at the front door.

"Come on Bryanna." Her mother said, beckoning her daughter to follow as Bryanna's father stalked out of the school building.

She followed her parents down the walkway to the car and climbed into the back seat silently, taking in the ridged set of her father's shoulders and the tightening in his jaw with a sinking heart.

They all got into the car and sat there for a moment before her father whirled around to glare furiously at Bryanna.

"I cannot believe that I was just called into school because you mouthed off to a teacher! What in the blazes is wrong with you! You have no right to speak like that to authority and by doing so you have embarrassed both your mother and I by forcing us to come into school to deal with our obnoxious daughter!"

Bryanna shrunk down in her seat, her heart clenching as the familiar sound of disappointment and exasperation in his tone.

"Honestly Bryanna, I thought I taught you better then that. You must always respect authority, even if you do not agree with them. Your actions were more then disappointing this time, they were humiliating."

She looked up.

"But she-"

"Enough! You are grounded from spending the afternoon with your friends for the next week!"

"But dad-!"

"No buts! Now sit quietly until we get home!"

Bryanna fell into a sullen silence, glaring out the window as they drove. As soon as they arrived home she shoved her door open and jumped out of the car before storming into the house and up to her room, slamming the door behind her before throwing herself onto her bed.

"I hate it when he says that! All he ever focuses on is what I do wrong, he never recognizes when I do something wrong. "Humiliating" and "disappointing". That's all my actions ever are."

Bryanna lay there for several minutes, face down on her covers as she stewed. She was pulled out of her angry mental rant by a soft knock on her door.

"Bryanna is out of service. Come back later."

She heard a soft laugh before her door opened and she heard soft steps approach her bed before someone sat down and a gentle hand was placed on her back.

"What did you do?" Tony asked quietly.

"I was rude to a teacher because she told me I would never graduate if I didn't pay any attention to the class, when she was covering off old material. I got sent to the office, the principle calling mom and dad, and now dads disappointed with me. Again."

Tony sighed and rubbed her back gently.

"Well, I could do the mature older brother thing and tell you that you shouldn't have mouthed off, or I could tell the truth and say that they should be glad you aren't as mouthy as I am and congratulate you for not taking the teachers crap. I think I'll go with the latter."

Bryanna was silent for a moment before rolling over and looking up at her brother who was grinning down at her.

"It's good you didn't do the mature older brother thing, your not mature enough to pull that off."

"What?! I am very mature I'll have you know!"

Bryanna snorted.

"Hah."

"You mock the older brother?"

"Yup."

He grinned before poising his hands above her.

"Then I must enact revenge!" He crowed, his hands shooting out and mercilessly tickling her sides.

"S-stop-hahahahahahahaha! Y-you stooooooooopp! Hehehehahahaha! T-that's meeeeaaaann!" Bryanna squeezed out between shrieks of laughter as she rolled off the bed and onto the floor, attempting to escape her brother.

She managed to get free and scramble away before turning and lunging for Tony, jumping on his back with a cackle. Tony got on all fours and shook himself himself gently to dislodge her. Bryanna let out a second laugh and held on tighter, refusing to let him shake her loose before he finally gave a dramatic sigh and dropped down flat onto the floor with Bryanna sprawled on top of him.

"So are you grounded?" Tony asked finally, laying his head on his arms folded in front of him.

"Yeah, I'm not allowed to hang out with my friends."

"Could be worse."

"I know."

They stayed there silently for a few minutes before Tony sighed.

"Alright Bri, off you get. I gotta go finish my project."

Bryanna sighed heavily before rolling off and standing to her feet, watching as Tony stood before smirking and giving her a light push to make her fall backwards onto her pile of beanbag chairs.

"I'll leave you to enjoy your prison sentence while I go pick up some parts for my project." He teased.

Bryanna rolled her eyes but giggled as she lazily mimicked the motions of making a snow angel in the beanbags.

"Kay."

Tony meandered out and Bryanna pushed herself upright before going over to her dollhouse and dolls and dropping down in front with a sigh, pulling out her dolls and going to work doing their hair and outfits with a slight smile.

Well, her punishment could have been worse. At least she could still play with her dolls and bug Tony, her two favourite pastimes.

* * *

Bryanna was sitting next to her mom on the couch watching a movie as they desperately tried to ignore the shouting in the next room.

"Stop treating me like a child! I'm twenty and I do not need you hovering over me like a self righteous judge!"

"I am your father and I have every right to speak into your life Anthony!"

"But you aren't speaking into my life! Your trying to make me into your precious Captain! I am not him and I am so tired of you acting as though I'm not good enough unless I am his clone! And I will not stop my "pointless projects" so you can stop wasting your breath. I will never be your perfect son, SO STOP TRYING TO MAKE ME INTO ONE!"

Bryanna flinched as she heard the familiar sound of a coat being grabbed off the coat rack and the garage door slamming and her mom pressed a gentle kiss to the top of her head.

"He'll be fine sweetheart. He's probably going off to go hang out with Rhodey." Her mother soothed.

But Bryanna was not comforted. Of course their parents thought Tony was hanging out with Rhodey, that was what Tony led them to believe and Bryanna did her best to add to and make it as believable as possible. But she knew what he really did after fights like this and it terrified her every time that something would happen to him.

After they heard Tony's car screech out of the driveway she watched her dad set the schedule that the locks wouldn't allow him into the house after one without the proper code, a code that changed after every fight. Paying careful attention to the code he typed in she watched him set the new code before turning back to her movie, distracted and tense.

Eventually the movie ended and she headed upstairs. She heard her parents talking downstairs and after checking that they weren't coming up stairs she slipped into her mothers upstairs office and hurried to the phone, dialling a number she had memorized.

"Shuuppp!" Came the overly loud and slurred greeting of Tony as he tried to yell over the loud music and shrieks of people in the background.

"Tony, he changed the code."

"Aggaaaiiiiin?!" He whined.

"Yes. Are you too drunk or can you remember the code?"

"I'm not gonna drink more tonight. Gimme the new code."

"498237."

"498237?"

"Yes."

"Thank yew!"

Bryanna sighed at the slurred words.

"Your welcome."

She heard a high pitched female voice and then the line went dead, leaving Bryanna to hang up the phone slowly before retreating to her room and readying for bed quietly. After calling down a goodnight Bryanna crawled under the covers and closed her eyes tightly, willing herself to fall asleep.

She knew that he would come home eventually, and there was no risk of him waking their parents since both slept heavy and with the aid of medicine. But she never slept well until she knew Tony was home, there was always the fear that something would happen to him.

And honestly, she didn't know what she would do without her older brother."

* * *

Bryanna slept restlessly until at three that morning she heard a soft thump and a equally as quiet giggle. Instantly she was up and awake, slipping out of her bed and to her door to peer out of the tiny crack between the door and the doorframe.

Outside was Tony, clothing and hair rumpled as she stumbled to his bedroom with his hand gripping the hand of a tall blonde with a skimpy outfit on.

"Baby..." she whined softly.

"Shh. Don't wake my sister."

She watched him open his bedroom door before turning and tugging the girl into him, the two of them beginning to kiss as he tugged her into the bedroom and closed the door.

Bryanna sighed, turning away and going back to her bed with the corners of her mouth downturned. Her brother kept on doing this, parties and girls, and he was screwing himself up. She hated seeing this because the next day he was always shut off and angry.

She hoped that one day he would meet a girl that would love him for who he was, but that would keep him from self destructing. Otherwise the very thing he used to help with the pain would only destroy him.

* * *

So what did you think? Reviews are welcome! Flames shall be laughed at, posted for others to laugh at, and ignored as I continue the story.


	4. Sibling Fun

Hello everyone!

Hope you guys are enjoying so far, we're getting closer to the first part of the plot that sets the stage for the rest of the story and I'm looking forward to hearing what you all think of what comes up next. This was a fun chapter to write, with their sibling interactions. Somehow I've always thought that if Tony had ever had a little sibling he would have been one of those older brothers that doted and spoiled, simply because he could:)

Enjoy!

* * *

 **Sibling Fun!**

* * *

The weekend had officially arrived and outside of a snoozing Bryanna's window the cheerful sound of birds chirping and a soft breeze blew through the trees. The sound of a growling stomach filled the room and Bryanna sat up with a grumble before dragging herself out of bed.

Eyes half shut she shuffled down the stairs and into the kitchen with a yawn and a stretch before hopping up on one of the island bar stools. Tony stood at the oven frying bacon and he glanced over at his sleepy sister with a hint of a smirk.

"Nice kitten pyjama's"

Bryanna looked at him for a moment before looking down at her pale purple pyjama' with cat faces all over them.

"...thanks..."

"You look like a zombie having awakened from the dead."

Bryanna glared halfheartedly at Tony before mumbling something ineligible and dropping her head down onto the counter with a soft thump making him laugh. She listened to the bacon sizzle for a moment before hopping off the stool and going over to her trusty cereal cupboard and retrieved her fruit loops before poring herself a bowl and topping off with milk, then digging in.

"Those things are going to rot your teeth out."

"Igdonchare."

Tony raised a brow and Bryanna swallowed before repeating herself.

"I said I don't care."

Her older brother laughed and Bryanna pouted before returning to her food. Silence fell over the room and Tony transferred the food over to his plate before taking a seat across from her and eating. The two siblings just enjoyed the peace in the room as soft morning light filtered into the kitchen and a relaxed atmosphere filled the room.

"Your both up?" A soft voice enquired and they turned to see their mom walk in, eyes soft from sleep.

"Yeah."

Their mom smiled before walking over to Tony and reaching up to give a gentle kiss on his cheek before going around to Bryanna and kissed the top of her head.

"Good morning then. I hope you both slept well."

They nodded and she smiled before pulling a yogurt cup out of the kitchen and joining them at the table. Several minutes later their dad joined them wordlessly and sat down next to their mother, the family sitting together relaxed and peaceful.

They all finished eating and just as they were about to take care of their dishes their father cleared his throat.

"Just so you are all aware, we will be taking a several day trip. We will be leaving tomorrow afternoon, please pack and be ready by then."

With that their father stood and left the room, heading to his office and leaving Tony, Bryanna and their mom sitting in the kitchen. The moment their father left the room Tony and turned to their mom with a pleading look.

"You aren't seriously going to make me come with you guys?! I can't just up and leave like that! I have responsibilities and projects! I'm a adult now, I don't need to be dragged around on all your little errands!"

Bryanna sighed and hopped off her stool, rinsing her bowl in the sink as Tony and her mom argued.

There was only one outcome from this argument, and that would be a no.

* * *

"Yes."

Bryanna gaped at her father who was looking most displeased. It had taken Tony and her mother a hour to work on her father and convince him that Tony was more then capable of staying at home without their parents, with a extra hour of behind closed doors mom and dad arguing.

"So I can stay home?"

"...yes."

Tony grinned and Bryanna gave her mother a sidelong glance, wordlessly pleading with her mom. A slight nod was given and Bryanna perked up.

"Dad?"

"What is it Bryanna?"

"Can I stay home too? I just got back from a trip and I don't want to go on another one."

Her father's eyes widened and his mouth opened but her mom held up a hand, one brow raised.

"Howard, what was the other thing we talked about?"

Her father surprisingly enough closed his mouth before taking a deep breath and closing his eyes.

Once he opened them again he turned to Tony who was looking about as surprised as Bryanna felt by their father's reaction.

"I...will allow you to stay home so long as Anthony believes he is capable of taking care of you as well as himself. Anthony?"

Tony grinned and leaned back in his chair.

"Absolutely. Bri and I will get along by ourselves just fine. Have sibling time."

Her father was silent for a long moment before sighing heavily and looking over at Bryanna.

"Fine. You may stay here with Anthony. IF you follow a few rules."

Bryanna beamed at her father. For once she didn't have to go!

* * *

"Bye!"

Bryanna waved enthusiastically as her parents pulled out of the driveway, Tony behind her.

Once their parents had pulled out of the driveway Bryanna and Tony went back inside, closing the door behind them and then looking at each other.

"Now what?"

Tony thought for a moment before a positively evil grin flickered across his face.

"How about a ice cream sundae making contest?"

"Yeah!"

* * *

"...I never want to see another ice cream sundae again." Bryanna groaned.

Tony lay flopped across the couch while Bryanna sprawled across a arm chair. They both looked rather unhappy and Bryanna clutched her stomach.

"This was a horrible idea. Why did I ever suggest it?"

"I dunno. But you were supposed to be the mature adult that didn't let me do stupid things so I blame you."

Tony rolled his eyes and Bryanna shifted into a more comfortable position. Tony put on the TV and the two of them watched random sitcoms for several hours as they recovered. Eventually Bryanna got bored and began to read, preferring to immerse herself in the fantastical adventures of her favourite characters over whatever was on the screen.

"Hey! Rhodey just texted to say that he had pizza and he's bringing it over to celebrate our first day of freedom!"

Bryanna's head shot up so fast it was a wonder she didn't give herself whiplash.

"Pizza?! Yum!"

Tony snorted at her reaction and Bryanna jumped off her seat to go out her book away. Just as she had put her book on the shelf she heard the doorbell ring and she rushed downstairs to see Tony open the front door for Rhodey.

"Hi Rhodey!"

"Hey brat!" Her brothers friend greeted her cheerfully, making Bryanna stick her tongue at him childishly before hopping over.

"You brought pizza!"

"That I did. I also brought over a hilarious video that I found on my dad's collection from his time in the war. A propaganda video and a recording of live shows for Captain America!"

Bryanna looked up in surprise. Captain America had been a friend of her dad and her dad had talked about Captain America all the time, constantly comparing Tony's actions to that of his friends. Part of her wanted to dismiss watching it out of loyalty to her brother who had admitted to resenting Captain America's place in his father's life, but her curiosity won out and she looked up hopefully at Tony who gave a roll of his eyes before nodding.

"Let's do this."

They grabbed plates before heading into the family room where Rhodey set up the videos before getting settled on the couch with Tony while Bryanna laid claim to the chair and watched eagerly.

" _Who's strong and brave, here to save the American Way?_

 _Who vows to fight like a man for what's right night and day?_

 _Who will campaign door-to-door for America,_

 _Carry the flag shore to shore for America,_

 _From Hoboken to Spokane,_

 _The Star Spangled Man with a Plan!_ "

The song only continued from there and Bryanna stared open mouthed, setting her pizza aside in favour of watching the entire recording. When it finally ended she looked over at Tony who's face was blank as he turned towards her. As soon as their eyes met neither of them could hold it in and the two of them burst into hysterical laughter in sync, Bryanna falling off her chair.

"H-he punched a guy playing Adolf Hitler?!" She gasped out between gales of laughter.

"A-And don't forget how he strutted down that stage like a runway model as they sang about his great feats with their little flippy skirts and bounced around singing for a guy with a wooden shield!" Tony wheezed.

"O-oh but he's the "Star Spangled Man With A Plan"!"

"W-who according them makes Hitler too s-scared to come out of his box!"

Bryanna pushed herself to her feet, struggling to contain her laughter for a moment.

"See how this guy can shoot! We tell ya that there's no substitute!~"

Her voice cracked from the laughter she was holding back on the last word and she broke down into giggles once again.

Tony sat up and dabbed the corners of his eyes mockingly.

"Such a touching song, amazing rendition."

The siblings snickered for a few moments longer before bringing themselves under control. Bryanna hopped back onto the chair before turning to a bemused Rhodey eagerly.

"Put in the next one!"

Her brothers friend sighed heavily.

"If you insist. Try not to choke on any pizza."

They watched the next video with grins before eventually pulling it out and putting on a action based video of Tony's choice. They all relaxed and enjoyed the movie, eating pizza and popcorn until they were all stuffed.

Eventually nine o'clock rolled around and they were just wrapping up the last movie so that Bryanna could go to bed when the phone rang.

Bryanna looked over at the phone in surprise and Tony paused the movie before going over and answering it.

"Hello?"

Bryanna watched with curious eyes as Tony's brows furrowed.

"Yes this is Anthony Stark. Who is this?"

There was a pause before his eyes went wide.

"The police?!"

Bryanna and Rhodey exchanged looked before turning back to stare at Tony.

"Yes I'm aware that my parents went on a trip. Why? Did something happen? Are they stranded somewhere?"

Bryanna sat up straighter and heard the faint and indistinct sound of chatter coming from the phone before Tony's other hand flew up to clutch the phone.

"They were what?!"

More indistinct chatter and Tony shook his head, cutting off whatever was being said.

"I'll be right down with my little sister. There had better be some answers and some directions to whatever hospital their in when I get to the station."

With that he ended the call before turning to Rhodey and Bryanna.

"Grab some shoes and your coats."

Tony took off towards the stairs that led upstairs and Bryanna chased after him, grabbing his arm.

"Tony, what's wrong?"

He looked down at her with confused and scared eyes.

"It's mom and dad. They were in a accident."

* * *

So what did you think? Reviews are welcome! Flames will be laughed at, posted for others to laugh at, and ignored as I continue the story.


	5. Loss

Hello all!

I sincerely apologize for the late update, I'll be doing a double update to make up for that:)

Hope you all enjoy!

* * *

 **Loss**

* * *

Five minutes later Bryanna was sitting in the back seat of Rhodey's car as Rhodey pulled out into main traffic with Tony sitting in the passenger seat clutching onto the dash as he leaned forward.

"Can't you go any faster?"

"I'm going as fast as I can without risking getting us into a accident as well Tony."

Tony said nothing but Bryanna saw him give a tense nod.

Bryanna for her part said nothing. Not that she really could say anything, her whole body was trembling and her brain had ground to a halt. The very idea of her parents being in a accident terrified her. They had to be ok. They just had to be.

What felt life hours later but was in truth only minutes Rhodey pulled into a parking spot in front of the police station and Bryanna fumbled with her seatbelt, getting it off and jumping out of the truck at the same time as her brother.

Tony grabbed her hand and towed her along behind her as he almost ran into the station with Rhodey right behind them.

"Mr Stark-"

"What happened?! Where have they been taken?!" Tony barked out, not bothering to allow the man to finish.

The officer at the front desk stepped out of his cubicle and a couple of other officers came through a back door.

"Mr Stark, I think you should sit down."

"I don't want to take a damn seat, I want to know where the hell my parents are!" Tony shouted, his voice borderline hysterical.

The officer hesitated and Bryanna stared up at Tony in confusion, watching as something seemed to dawn on him and all the blood in his face drained out, his hand tightening around hers.

"No..."

The officer sighed before giving a slow nod.

Tony gave a soundless gasp and his hand went slack, dropping hers as he stumbled sideways. Bryanna looked at him and the officers uncomprehendingly.

"I-I don't understand.." She mumbled.

Several officers hurried to Tony's side and one caught him before he could fall.

"Mr Stark, Miss Stark. I'm so sorry to be the one to inform you of this, but your parents did not survive the accident."

Bryanna froze and everything fell into place. She knew what they were going to say next.

"I'm sorry. But your parents are dead."

* * *

Dead.

Bryanna felt her legs shake before giving way under her as she collapsed to the floor.

Dead.

Tony let out a strangled sound before ripping himself free of the officers that supported her before lunging to the garbage can where she heard him retching violently.

Dead.

Her breathing accelerated as she trembled, staring up at the officers with wide eyes.

Dead. Her parents were dead.

The full realization of what the officers had just said sunk in and it was like a dam had been released as tears flowed down her cheeks and she shook with sobs.

"D-dead?! T-t-they c-can't be d-dead!" She wailed.

She heard Tony getting sick but was distracted by Rhodey kneeling down next to her and pulling her into his arms.

"Officers, I need you to call someone for me. They need to be here right now."

"Who?"

"Obadiah Stane."

* * *

Rhodey sat on the floor with Bryanna as he gave the officer the number, holding the trembling girl close. He glanced over at Tony with a pained look, watching as his best friend was hurried into the nearest bathroom in hopes of getting him to a toilet before his own sobs made him sick again.

He wanted to be there for Tony, but there was nothing he could do. Right now the best place for him was watching over Bryanna.

Soon he heard a car pull up front and the door to the station was thrown open as Howard Stark's close friend Obadiah Stane burst into the room.

"Where's Tony?" The man barked out.

Rhodey pointed towards the bathroom and Obadiah nodded before looking down at Bryanna who had yet to move.

"I'll get everything worked out with the officers. Can you stay with her until Tony is able to walk on his own and can get to my car without help? Once he can walk by himself I can get the two of them back to their house. I'll stay with them for now while we work out where to go from here." He said calmly.

Rhodey nodded and sat on the ground with Tony's little sister while Obadiah talked with the officers and accepted a skinny folder with some paperwork. While he was talking with the officers Rhodey heard the toilet flush and Tony emerged from the bathroom, his face pale and his shoulders hunched.

"What is Obadiah doing here?" He asked dully.

"I had him called. You cannot take care of yourself and Bryanna like this."

Tony nodded slowly before looking over at Bryanna who wasn't crying so much as hiccuping now. He shuffled over to the chair closest to Bryanna and Rhodey before taking a seat. Without even looking up Bryanna reached up a hand and grabbed one of Tony's in a white knuckled grip.

It took a bit of time for Obadiah to get everything in order temporarily until Tony could sit down and look everything over himself and by the time the man had finished Bryanna had fallen asleep against Rhodey, somehow maintaining her grip on Tony.

"Shall we go?"

Rhodey looked up at the man to see him looking at Tony.

"Yeah. Just let me slip my hand loose of Bryanna's grip. And one of you are going to have to carry her, my limbs feel like jello and I don't want to drop her." Tony mumbled.

Obadiah gave the girl a dismissive look before moving to kneel.

"I'll take her I suppose." He sniffed.

Rhodey's eyes narrowed, the older man's dismissive behaviour towards his own friends daughter rubbing him the wrong way.

"Actually, I'll take her." He said stiffly, reaching down and gently lifting the tiny girl in his arms and carrying her out to the older man's car. Tony opened the door silently and Rhodey set her in the seat before doing up the sleeping belt for her and stepping away.

"Thanks Rhodey." Tony whispered.

He nodded at his friend and watched as Tony and Obadiah climbed into the car before leaving.

Rhodey stared after them, something akane to dread filling him as he watched the car pull away.

Something was going to happen, he could feel it.

But he couldn't prevent it.

* * *

So what did you think? Reviews are welcome! Flames shall be laughed at, posted for others to laugh at, and ignored as I continue the story.


	6. Funeral

Hello all!

So last chapter things picked up a bit, and these next couple of chapters will be bridging between what took place after the death of their parents, and the next stage in their life.

Enjoy!

* * *

 **Funeral**

* * *

When Bryanna woke up the next morning she had no idea where she was and what was going on. It took her a moment of lying there before all the memories of what had taken place the night before filled her mind and her eyes closed as a single tear escaped from her eye.

Her body resisted but Bryanna swung her legs over the side of her bed before leaving her room and standing the hallway, looking at the tightly closed bedroom door of her brother.

She could remember bits and pieces of his reaction to the news but it was all overwhelmed by her own reaction.

She went down the stairs, careful not to make to much noise and risk waking up her brother. Slipping into the kitchen she was brought up short by the sight of Obadiah Stane sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee.

"What are you doing here?" She asked warily.

The man looked over at her before snorting and turning away.

"I'm here to make sure that your brother can handle your parents death."

"But what about me?" She questioned, insecurity and fear allowing her to voice a question that had plagued her since she met the man, but had not dared to voice.

"I'm sure one of your little friends is good at comforting you. Go to them, I'm not a babysitter." He dismissed.

Bryanna flinched at his words, her eyes filling with tears before she swallowed and forced them down.

"I-I...I don't know my my dad ever liked you. It's not like your that smart, and your a pretty crappy person." She whispered, the pain that filled her heart making room for anger as she glared up at the man before turning and leaving the room, making her way to the family room where she curled up in the chair, staring at nothing.

* * *

Tony woke up that morning, his mouth felt like cotton and he had a pounding headache.

The moment his eyes opened everything that had happened the night before began to play over in his mind, her stomach clenching once more.

"No! I can't do this..." Tony hissed to himself, forcing himself to get up and dressed before going down to the kitchen.

"So your awake."

Tony looked up as he walked into the kitchen and gave a short nod to Obadiah.

"Yeah. Have you seen Bryanna yet this morning?"

The man glanced up at him.

"Briefly. She's in a family room I believe. How are you feeling?"

"Awful. I just don't want to believe that..."

Obadiah stood and came over to him, setting a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry. Would you like to take a seat, I can get you some coffee."

Tony nodded slowly and sat on one of the chairs, his hands braced on the table as he stared down at the table.

"What now?"

"I can help you, but we need to plan to funeral among some other situations that need to be figured out. We can tackle everything one at a time." Obadiah said gently as he set the cup in front of Tony before retreating around to his side of the table.

"Yeah. That sounds good."

* * *

Bryanna stood at the doorway of the kitchen, just out of sight of the two males inside as she listened to the raised voices inside.

"What do you mean that I cannot keep her here! I'm her older brother, I have every right to assume guardianship and adopt her!" Tony shouted.

"You are not listed in the will as the person that she goes to in the case of your parents death. You have to go through a process to get the right to adopt her and assume guardianship Tony, it's not that easy. They will take into account the way you live and that at this moment you do not have a job, the fact that your a hardcore partier will not help your case in any way" Obadiah said tiredly.

Bryanna's stomach seized and she froze.

"But Bryanna can't go to some foster family!" He cried.

"Tony..."

There was a clatter and out in the hallway Bryanna slid down the wall to sit on the ground, eyes wide and pained.

"You! You can adopt her! You're more then capable of qualifying and she can still stay with me! You'll just be her legal guardian! Please!"

"Tony, that wouldn't work and you know it. Besides, I'm a single middle aged man that has no familial connection to Bryanna, I highly doubt that the court would allow me custody of a young girl."

The rest of the arguments faded into a dull buzz as Bryanna's eyes closed and her breathing became uneven as she fought not to dissolve into tears. She sat there for god knows how long before she heard a final clatter and heavy steps approach the door.

Instantly she was up and scrambling to get out of the way before she was seen but it was too late.

"Bryanna?! What are you doing there? Were you listening to our conversation?!

She froze and looked up at Tony, her eyes shimmering as her lower lip wobbled and his hard and angry posture changed to one so much more open as he dropped down to his knees in front of her and reached out, gently taking her arm and pulling her into his arms, holding her tightly as Bryanna clung to her brother.

"On Bri, it's gonna be okay. We'll figure it all out." He said in a broken whisper.

"It's okay..."

* * *

As they entered the church Bryanna clung tightly to Tony's hand, the other hand fisted in her back dress to prevent it from shaking.

The church was filled with people, people crying, people talking, so many people and Bryanna didn't know almost any of them.

They were led to the front of the church where Bryanna sat listening as people went up front and talked about how wonderful her parents were, how much they loved them, how much they would be missed. Tears were shed, sobs could be heard, and through all that Bryanna glared down at her lap.

"Their all liars." She whispered.

"What?"

She looked up at Tony.

"They are all liars. Most of these people didn't know our parents, they knew their money. Their all a bunch of worthless liars. I hate them."

Tony wrapped a arm around her shoulders silently and held her close as Bryanna's fists clenched and unclenched. Eventually it came time for his speech and she sat straight as he rose and went up to the podium and accepted the mic.

He stood there for a long moment, swallowing hard before looking out at the people.

"My parents were individuals who never understood the meaning of impossible. If they wanted to do something, even when everyone around them said that they never could, they would go for it. My father was a successful businessman and a brilliant inventor, because he chased his dreams. My mom was a woman who wanted nothing more then to heal everyone she saw. First through volunteering in the hospital, then going on to run a military hospital so she could save as many lives as possible."

Tony's eyes were glassy and Bryanna met his gaze as it flicked to her and attempted to give a encouraging smile.

"My parents loved each other with all their hearts. You could see it in every way they behaved with each other. I-...I never thought I'd be up here speaking at the funeral for my parents, both of them gone, but I know they wouldn't have wanted to die alone, so in a way perhaps this is better. They've gone on together, in love as they had ever been."

With those words her brother set the mic down with a clatter before giving a jerky nod and exiting the stage, rejoining her. Bryanna sat there watching as he struggled to regain herself, her own tears fighting to be let free.

Her parents were dead.

* * *

So what did you think? Reviews are welcome! Flames shall be laughed at, posted for others to laugh at, and ignored as I continue the story.


	7. Jezebel

Hello all!

So this will be the last update today:) These last couple of chapters were rather short so I figured I'd add them all at the same time. On a side note, I have changed the summery to this story as well, to one that I think is a little more interesting:) Feel free to give your opinion on the new summery!

Enjoy!

* * *

 **Jezebel**

* * *

Bryanna was sitting in her room with her dolls lying around her, staring blankly at her dollhouse. Ever since her parents death, and then the funeral a week ago, she just couldn't function.

Since the funeral it was like her tears had just dried up. She couldn't cry, she was just hollow. They said that everyone reacted to the death of a loved one differently, but she hated this. She just couldn't feel anymore.

"Bri?"

She looked up at Tony who appeared in her doorway, his face tight and his mask on.

"The social worker is here. She wants to talk to us about what happens now."

Bryanna stood and smoothed her shirt before following Tony down the stairs into the formal living room where Obadiah sat conversing with the woman in low and indiscernible tones. When they walked into the room the adults quieted before looking over at Tony and Bryanna.

"You must be Bryanna. It's a honour to meet you." The social worker said in a warm tone.

"I'd say the same but since your presence probably means that I'll have to leave Tony it would be a complete lie." Bryanna said petulantly before taking a seat next to Tony who was smirking slightly.

The woman appeared taken aback and blinked before giving a uncomfortable laugh.

"Understandable, I'm sure."

Bryanna glared at the woman wordlessly and she twitched before suddenly straightening and a look of professionalism slid over her face.

"I have looked over the reports and done some background checks, as well as observed in passing you all, and I have come to a conclusion. Due to the evidence that has been presented to me, I cannot agree to you adopting or taking over guardianship of Bryanna at this time, Mr Stark."

"WHAT?!" Tony borderline shouted, leaning forward.

Bryanna was about to protest in a similar way when she caught sight of the woman glance over at Obadiah and give a hint of a nod which the man returned. Instantly she stiffened.

"What evidence?"

"Unidentifiable witnesses who have proof of Tony being a hard partier, evidence that proves that this behaviour is something that took place right up until your parents death. You also hold no job, have a unstable schedule, and are now known for dealing well with emotional overload. To put it in plain terms, you are not ready for the financial and emotional responsibility of caring for your sister. She will be placed in a foster care, and you will be able to have contact to her still, but she will remain under the care of someone else."

Tony was speechless and he shook his head violently.

"I already have a family lined up who would be willing to take her in, I believe it would be best to do this as soon as possible so that you can both get used to this new way of living."

Bryanna gasped and Tony violently shook his head.

"No. I will not accept this! There has to be a way-"

"There isn't." The woman said firmly.

"And if I don't go? If I become a rebellious girl that attacks people and fails in school and refuses to obey?" Bryanna finally said, lifting her chin challengingly.

"Then I would be forced to assume that your brother's behaviour is negatively influencing you and cut off your interaction for a period of time."

"What?" Tony and Bryanna cried at the same time.

"It's our job to recognize potentially negative influences and prevent our wards from acting out. I'd only be doing my job."

Then the woman smiled, the look in her eyes slightly cooler then it had been earlier. Standing and gathering her things she gave a short nod to them.

"Well, I just came to inform you of this. The paperwork will be finished by tomorrow so the day after I and the foster parents will come and pick her up. Please have her things that she will be bringing packed up by then."

"We will. Thank you very much for coming today Mrs Batret." Obadiah said calmly before standing and walking her to the door, leaving Tony and Bryanna alone.

"Tony?" She whimpered softly.

"It's okay." He whispered, his voice dull as if he was trying to convince himself more then her.

But they both knew that no matter he who he was trying to convince, nothing would ever be okay again.

* * *

Jezebel Batret gave a demure nod to Obadiah as she reached her car.

"Thank you for your input, it was very helpful."

He sighed.

"I wish I didn't have to speak against his adopting her, but I do not believe that it would be wise for him to take over guardianship of her. He needs to focus on making a life for himself, and he never will if he's taking care and raising his sister. I'm just glad you understood."

"I do, and I agree. Have a good night Mr Stane."

He smiled briefly before turning and walking away as she slid into the car. Her polite smile never wavered as she pulled out of the Stark driveway and onto the road. But once she got far enough away her polite mask dropped, and the glitter in her eyes went dead. With a rough motion Jezebel reached up and grasped her wig before yanking it off and shaking her black tresses free with a snort.

Then she reached over and dialled her boss's number, glaring straight ahead at the row as she drove, a cold but triumphant smirk spreading across her lips.

"Hello?"

"Mr Pierce." She said formally.

"Ah, Jezebel. Do you have good news for me?"

"Yes sir. The appointment went as well as can be expected and the man that is caring for them currently, Obadiah Stane, is fully supportive of Bryanna being put into a foster home and Tony won't do anything for fear of getting banned from visiting her. She will be picked up the day after tomorrow with the "foster parents"."

He laughed.

"Wonderful! The experiment will take place with the perfect test subject as soon as she arrived at the underground base. The project finally as the green light to move forward!"

"Yes sir. Everything is in place. Project Nyx is a go."

* * *

So what did you think? Reviews are welcome! Flames shall be laughed at, posted for others to laugh at, and ignored as I continue the story.


	8. Goodbye

Hello all!

 **IMPORTANT NOTE! PLEASE READ!**

Hello wonderful readers:) I promise not to take up to much of your time with this note, but it is important that any of you following the story check this out.

Some of you may have noticed that the name of this story has changed, it is now entitled The Shadow Siren I: Project Nyx. There is a important reason for this. When I first started this story I had planned to go through the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe within one story. This was going to be my biggest fanfiction undertaking, but I figured that it would be a fun project and would just make a large story. I have progressed pretty far in the writing of this story, I'm currently working on the Iron Man 2 storyline, and as I've been writing this story I realized that my goal to contain the entire story within one published work wasn't going to happen.

Thus, the change in the title. Bryanna's story will now be broken up into arcs, each story containing up to two movie storylines within the Cinimatic universe. This story will be pre-MCU, looking at Bryanna's experience before the Avengers Initiative comes into being. Rest assured! There will be large appearances by beloved characters from MCU that will span over plenty of chapters and play important parts in this story.

For those of you who are interested in following Bryanna's story I will be publishing chapters three at a time each week as long as I have access to to finish this prologue volume quickly and begin the MCU chapters.

I sincerly hope you will continue to join me in Bryanna's story, please enjoy these next chapters!

* * *

 **Goodbye**

* * *

The next day was spent packing all the things that were important to Bryanna, her barbies and her clothes, and her books. Pretty much everything that had meant anything to her was slowly packed in the boxes.

That evening their late dinner was a subdued and quiet affair, no one talking other then Obadiah who tried several times to spark a conversation only to quit when neither responded.

Once it was over Bryanna retreated to her room to change so she could go to bed early. After she finished changing and was ready for bed she crawled under her covers and just lay there. She heard Obadiah over in the guest room prepare for bed before the door closed firmly and silence overtook the hall once again.

She didn't know how long she lay there before she couldn't take it any longer. Sitting up and swinging her legs over the side of her bed she shivered at the sensation of the cold floor touching her feet before standing and slipping out of her room and down the stairs towards the back room overlooking the pack part of his property.

The entire house was dark, and Bryanna believed Tony and Obadiah both to be asleep in their rooms, when she saw the large picture windows overlooking their back yard with the curtains drawn back, illuminating a lone figure sitting in front of the window.

"Tony?"

The figure turned and Tony looked over at her tiredly.

"Hey Bri. Trouble sleeping?"

She nodded and padded over to where he was sitting on a massive chair. He looked at her for a moment before holding his arms open to her. Bryanna crossed the room before climbing up into his lap and curling up in his arms, relaxing against his chest as he wrapped his arms snugly around her.

"I don't want to leave." She sniffed after a moment.

"I know Bri, I don't want you to leave either. I honestly cannot believe that woman had the evidence. I don't know what I'm going to do about this yet, but you can be sure I'll do something. I won't let them take you away from me, your my baby sis. They shouldn't have that right."

Bryanna sniffed again, blinkng furiously against the hot sting of tears. After a while of sitting together in silence Tony shifted so that the recliner was leaned as far back as possible before grabbing a blanket from the couch next to him and laying it over him and Bryanna, her head tucking snugly under his head, before they both drifted off to sleep.

* * *

The next day found Bryanna standing next to Tony as they awaited her social worker and new foster families arrival. Outside they heard the car pull and Bryanna tensed as Obadiah opened the door, giving them full view as the social worker and a couple walking up to the house.

"Hello!" The woman cooed.

Bryanna said nothing, her grip on her brother's sleeve tightening as she clutched her Tony doll in one arm.

"You must be Bryanna. It's very nice to meet you. We're both really excited to take you into our family." The man said kindly.

Bryanna still refused to speak and Tony stared at them stonily.

The couple exchanged looks and the social worker sighed.

"Mr Stane, can you help me take the boxes out to the car?" She asked.

Bryanna watched as Obadiah nodded and the two of them each picked up a box before leaving.

"We know this is hard, but we promise that we'll take good care of you." The woman simpered.

"I don't care." She finally said angrily, tears shimmering in her eyes.

"But you can visit your brother." The man said coaxingly.

Their voices sounded so fake to Bryanna, like they were only reciting lines. She shook her head again, pressed against her brother as her few boxes were carried out to the car and the two older adults rejoined them.

"We need to leave now." The social worker announced as she entered the house again.

Bryanna's chin wobbled and Tony turned to face her, making her let out a sob at the sight of his over-shiny eyes and wrap her arms tightly around his middle. His arms came around her shoulder the best he could from higher above her.

They stayed like that for a moment before she finally let go, swiping at her eyes.

"Bye Tony."

He ruffled her hair with a sad and affectionate smile.

"Goodbye Bri, have a safe trip."

"I will."

* * *

Bryanna sat in the car for a long time, just staring out the window through a film of tears. When they finally arrived at her new house Bryanna felt her stomach tighten. Something was...off.

She helped them bring the boxes in, and as the lady box was set down she found herself standing in her new bedroom with her stuff haphazardly placed around her. She stood there looking around her when she heard a creak and looked up to see her foster parents enter the room with the social worker behind them.

And not one of them were smiling.

They fanned out, blocking the doorway as they stared at her and Bryanna took a step back.

"Tell me, Bryanna, do you think your brother would be sad if you died?" The foster mother asked in a cloyingly sweet tone.

"W-what?!"

"Or worse yet, if his darling little sister died in a deadly fire. What a heartbreak that would be...his only last living family having died in a housefire the day after she arrived in her new home. A true tragedy."

Bryanna's face paled and she backed up further.

"A-are you crazy?! What are you talking about?!" She stuttered out, her voice angry and scared.

The man smirked before pulling something out of his coat. A hypodermic needle.

Bryanna's eyes went wide before she spun and lunged towards the window, terror filling her. A malevolent laugh was heard before someone grabbed her and violently threw her to the ground. She let out a pathetic cry as the air was knocked out of her and a large figure filled her fuzzy vision before there was a prick on the side of her neck and her eyes closed against her will.

* * *

Jezebel stood over the girl's unconscious body with glinting eyes.

"Pick the brat up and load her into the car closed up in the driveway. Casey, pull some of the stuff out of the boxes, enough to be a realistic amount for someone starting to unpack. Brent and I will take the girl back to the lab, you will stay here and do what you usually do around the house when Brent is gone on work trips. If anyone asks, just say that he's out of town for work and you stayed home with your new foster daughter because she's sick."

Brent kneeled down and grabbed the girl, lifting her none to gently before reaching down and grabbing the male Barbie that she had been holding and placing it on her.

"Maybe when she wakes up with this she won't freak out."

"I doubt it, but we'll try anyway."

Jezebel followed Brent down the stairs, withdrawing her phone and sending off a text to her boss.

"Extraction a success. Will be prepared for your arrival."

Less then a second passed before she received her response.

"Wonderful. Let the games begin."

* * *

So what did you think? Reviews are welcome! Flames shall be laughed at, posted for others to laugh at, and ignored as I continue the story.


	9. Experiments

Hello again!

Here is the second chapter being posted this week. I do need to give a bit of a warning to you guys, we have entered the beginning of the more intense chapters with HYDRA. Anyone who has seen Captain America: Winter Soldier especially will know the kinds of things that come with HYDRA, and I have done my best to keep Bryanna's experience accurate to what HYDRA did to others.

I am worried that this will come across as melodramatic rather then intense, so feedback is appreciated as always:)

* * *

 **Experiments**

* * *

Bryanna had woken up over a half hour ago and had found herself locked in a white room on a cot, and had since then curled up in the corner of this bare room with her doll clutched tightly in her arms.

She heard voices and rolling carts outside the door, and her heart was beating erratically as fear filled her. What was happening?!

A clang made her jerk and look up as the door opened to reveal a kindly looking man in a white doctors coat and a brightly smiling young woman.

"Hello Bryanna! How are you feeling?" The doctor asked.

"W-what happened to me?! Why did they knock me out and take me here?!"

The doctor gave a soft sigh.

"I'm sorry they were so rough. They were supposed to tell you what was happening before sedating you. We are in a secret government location and couldn't risk you seeing the entrance and location."

Bryanna stared at the doctor, confusion in her eyes.

"I don't understand. Why would I be taken to a government place?"

The doctor smiled brightly.

"Oh your very special my dear. You see, the government has a plan on how to make the world a better place. Your father had a plan, and with him gone we are stepping forward to make sure our plan truly happens. You are going to be one of our instruments in doing this. We have a special serum that we will be giving to you, to make you stronger and more healthy. Then you can help fulfill our dream of this world united."

She stared at the doctor as he spoke, overwhelmed by everything that she had just heard.

"I don't understand...you want me to become some special power person, kind of like Captain America?"

The doctors eye twitched at the mention of Captain America but his smile never wavered.

"Yes, except you wouldn't be a super solder, you'll be something a little bit more special."

Bryanna watched as they approached, shrinking further back into the corner.

"I don't want to. I want to go back to Tony."

The doctor sighed.

"I understand that, you don't have to make a decision now. Would you at least come meet the other doctors and one of the people in charge of this particular project?"

Bryanna hesitated before nodding slowly and standing, her grip on her doll tighting defensively.

"Come on then." He said coaxingly, starting slowly towards the door.

Bryanna followed the man silently, curious about the people she was about to meet. As she exited the room two massive men came up on either side just behind her.

"Those are just guards to ensure that if something happens your protected. Don't worry about them." The doctor said cheerfully.

She shot them a wary look before continuing to follow the man down the industrial looking hall to a second door that looked like a lab door. He pushed it open and held it for Bryanna who entered the large room with wide eyes. There was all the equipment one would see in a hospital plus a bunch of other things Bryanna had never seen before.

Two rooms on either side of the lab area caught her attention, one with a clear window that allowed her to easily see the technicians inside, and the other one with a one way window, one that did not allow her to see into the room behind.

"This is the place you do it?"

"Yes, this is our procedure room." The doctor answered.

Bryanna nodded as she looked around, her eyes drifting over the equipment before pausing on a strange symbol on the wall. A circle with a skull inside and what looked almost like octopus tentacles under the skull. Her brows furrowed, she recognized that symbol.

"Is that your coat of arms or something?" She asked, pointing at the symbol.

"Yes it is." The doctor answered as he went over to a screen and started pressing buttons.

Her mind raced, trying to figure out where she recognized that symbol. She remembered that her father had shown her something with that symbol and she closed her eyes as she tried to visualize that scene.

" _What's that daddy? It looks neat."_

 _"It's not neat Bryanna, that symbol represents the evil in this world. They are a cult that called themselves HYDRA and sided with Hitler in World War Two for a time, fighting against us to destroy our freedom before separating and working alone to force us to live under their tyranny. Their forces were formidable, but before they could drop a series of bombs that would devastate America and our part in this war Captain America got to the plane and crashed it into the ocean to save the lives of thousands, sacrificing his own in the process."_

 _"Really?"_

 _"Yes. If it wasn't for Captain America you and Anthony probably wouldn't even be here now. I more then likely wouldn't be here either."_

 _"Oh. I don't like that symbol anymore then."_

 _"Good. That's not a good symbol to admire and I thank God that they are gone and you'll never have to learn that first hand."_

She let out a gasp and her head shot up to stare at the symbol on the wall once again before she let out a strangled scream and lurched backwards, falling to the ground before scrambling to her feet and attempting to flee.

Instantly the guards grabbed her arms, holding her back as she thrashed and fought to free herself.

"What's wrong?!" The doctor gasped.

"Your HYDRA! You lied! You lied! Your not government, your a terrorist! My dad din't fight for you, he fought against you! Your all a bunch of monsters, you aren't nice!" Bryanna shrieked as she thrashed.

The staff all stopped and stared at her, clearly taken aback before the doctor's eyes narrowed and he reached down to very deliberately press a button that turned on a machine in the back corner.

As the sound of the rumbling device filled the air the atmosphere in the room changed to something so much for foreboding.

Those cheerful staff, no longer had a smile on their face and their eyes were dead. Machines began to whir to life and the guards grips on her arms tightened to a painful level as the doctor sneered.

"A smart little thing, aren't you. You know, it's really too bad that you had to figure it out. We had planned to do this the easy way, convince you to agree to this of your own free will. But I suppose that won't happen now. Boys, take her to the table and strap her down."

Bryanna's eyes widened in horror and she began to fight in earnest, ineligible shrieks coming from her mouth as she desperately tried to escape.

But it was futile, the men were to strong and before she knew it she found herself lying on the cold surgical table as her arms and legs were fastened to the table using metal cuffs.

"N-no! STOP!"

Bryanna's shirt was cut open and the sleeves ripped so they could take it off her, as well as the pants cut off her. Terrified tears began to stream down her chubby cheeks and a woman dispassionately attached stickers to her chest before snapping down little corded attachments to her chest. She remembered her father saying that they monitored her heart rate when they had visited one if his friends in the hospital once.

She was then attached to several other machines, none of which she knew or recognized. Once the monitoring machines had been attached the woman then grabbed a hospital gown with lots of snaps and ties that allowed the nurse to dress her around the restraints without undoing them and dressed her in it.

Once she was done a nurse approached Bryanna and she strained at the cuffs held her motionless as the woman swiped the crook of her arm with a alcohol pad before inserting a IV needle.

"Are we ready?"

"Yes. Bring out the blood."

"NONONONONONONONONONONONO!" She screamed around the now nearly suffocating sobs.

No one responded to her terrified pleas as Bryanna's head strained and she fought to make even just eye contact with one of them. The nurse walked away and the doctor entered her line of vision, a insane glow to his eyes.

"You have been given the greatest honour today. Today we are going to attempt something that has never before been tried. We are going to take the blood of a inhuman and inject it into a human to change the properties of their DNA and enhance them with the power if a inhuman!"

Bryanna's eyes went painfully wide and she struggled anew.

"Your insane! There is no such thing a inhuman!"

The man laughed.

"Oh but there are. And you are about to receive a great gift from them!"

There was a click and the nurse returned with a leather case that she opened for the doctor. Bryanna's struggles renewed with vigor as she fought against the inevitable, thrashing violently and ripping and the immobile steel restraints.

"Let us begin!"

Then the doctor withdrew a vial of glowing red liquid and placed the syringe into the IV tube connection, grinning overly wide as he slowly pushed the plunger down a few millimetres.

At first all she could feel was a strange, warm feeling in her veins, one that left behind a almost chilled feeling. The doctor looked over to the technicians in the windowed room who gave a nod and he began to slowly but steadily push the plunger down.

"AUUGHH!"

She let out a pained scream as a burning sensation began to fill her veins, moving up her arm and into her chest. Her muscles began to spasm as with each strong pump of her heart what felt like liquid fire was forced through her veins.

Her vision went white and her back arched as her head whipped from side to side, howls of agony filling the room.

"Her eyes! Their turning grey!" She heard someone say distantly.

There was a clatter and her fuzzy vision recognized people gathering around her head.

"There's only a tiny bit of the blood left! Do we finish the injection?"

"Yes."

Bryanna let out a sob as she felt the burning sensation at injection site increase tenfold, screams once again filling the air. Her chest seized and her body bucked on the table, agony filling every nerve and overloading her body.

Darkness and comforting shadows filled the corners of her vision and slowly closed in, her sight clearing for only mere seconds and allowing her to look up and see a man looking down at her, his strange glowing eyes of yellow and orange, realization that inhumans were real filling her.

But as she began to fade one entirely different thought held her mind captive, and as the darkness swamped her, pulling her down into the blessed nothing where she would be free of the pain one word slipped from her lips, preceding the silence.

Tony...

* * *

So what did you think? Reviews are welcome! Flames shall be laughed at, posted for others to laugh at, and ignored as I continue the story.


	10. Leaving All Behind

Hello!

Here is the next chapter! Unlike the rest of the future updates there will be a fourth one that will take place today, to tie off the pre-HYDRA part of this first story.

* * *

 **Leaving All Behind**

* * *

On a cold surgical table lay the figure of a small girl, eyes closed as long dark lashes gently brushed her cheeks. A group stood around her, humans and inhumans alike looking down at the unconscious child.

"I told you this was a foolish venture. Your experiment has gone into a comatose, her body is attempting to protect her system from overloading and killing her because of the blood. She may wake up in a few days, or she may never wake up."

The nurses and technicians hurried around in the background, double checking equipment and setting up other pieces of equipment to be hooked up.

"Then we will put her under cryogenic freeze, keep her from aging and keep her muscles from deteriorating as her body becomes used to the blood. We'll take her out every year for a month or so to see how she's progressing."

The Baron laughed, his colourful eyes glittering with dark amusement.

"You cannot put her into freeze. Her body is trying to adapt to our blood, if she gets frozen before her body has fully accepted our blood her systems will shut down. You put her in there and you'll kill her."

The doctor stilled.

"What?!"

A smirk spread across the barons face and he reached out a hand, brushing it across the girl's forehead. A shimmery glow engulfed her for a second before dying out.

"This girl is our property now, it is our blood in her, you will not have free reign over her. She will have power, and the only way you'll be able to tap it is if she willingly works for you. You will not be able to train unused magic for your purposes, I've made sure she'll be able to control it on her own. Baiting her into an emotional breakdown will do nothing, the magic will only come when she willingly summons it. You will not be able touch her mind in any way to program her to do your bidding, I will not have something that is produced from our superior blood altered with your crude mortal tools. If she does not wake in the next twenty years I will return and retrieve her and bring her to our realm."

There were cries of outrage and protests but the Baron raised his hands, the magic swirling around them silencing the men.

"This is non-negotiable. In twenty years if she has not awoken from this comatose she will come with me. If she is awake she will stay with you. It is very simple. You have no right to deny me, as without my retrieval of the blood this would not even be possible."

Anger filled the faces of the HYDRA men and the Baron snarled, a quick flick of his fingers causing the air pressure to drop and some of the equipment in the room to activate their shrill alarms. At the sound of the alarms the standoff ended, the humans giving into the more powerful inhuman before them.

"Very well, we agree to your terms."

The Baron laughed once again as he and his two companions stepped back from the table where the frail human lay.

"I care not about your 'agreement'. This is what will happen, and you cannot escape that. We will check in with you in twenty years."

And then with a flick of their hand the three beings glowed brightly before vanishing.

* * *

Jezebel was standing in the corner of the lab room watching everything that was taking place, giving her full view of the inhumans using magic on Bryanna before vanishing.

The medical staff and Mr Pierce were talking urgently in low tones before Mr Pierce turned to Jezebel.

"Go find Casey and Brent. I want you to go to the house and...take care of things."

Jezebel raised her brow before nodding. She left the lab, stopping by the staff cafeteria to grab the two of them on her way. Once she had grabbed them they headed toward the car, the couple slightly in front of her.

As they walked Jezebel eyed the backs of their heads, a dark smile spreading across her face as she slipped her hand into her coat, fingers brushing against a loaded gun.

Oh how she lived dealing with expendables.

* * *

Tony hummed along to the radio as he drove down the freeway towards Bryanna's foster home. The last couple of days had been spent working out the will and signing paperwork for the business. He had a good four months until he was twentyone and could take over the company. During this time Obadiah was going to step in as CEO of the company.

But now he was taking a break from the work and going to see how Bryanna was doing.

Pulling off the highway he cheerfully drew along the road leading up towards her street. As he drove he began to see thick black smirks in the air above some of the streets ahead. His brows knitted slightly, that was from in the direction of Bryanna's new house. He wondered if it was close by them. Soon he heard sirens behind him, and pulled off to the side of the road and turned to see several fire trucks come screaming by, lights flashing and sirens going.

He watched them fly by before turning sharply...right onto Bryanna's street.

Tony paled slightly before stomping on the gas and shooting into traffic as he wrenched the wheel and whipped onto the street, coming to a screeching stop next to the sidewalk. His eyes focused on a house a few properties over that was engulfed in flames.

He yanked the emergency break up before fumblingly turned off the car and pulling the keys out of the ignition. He climbed out of the car before slamming the door, somehow remembering to lock the door, and running towards a larger crowd that had gathered a few feet away, several people crying and several more looking scared and strained.

"Why didn't they come sooner?! Casey and her sick girl never got out!" One woman cried, her face pressed into a man's shoulder.

Tony skidded to a stop next to them, nearly falling over from the momentum.

"Who owned that place? Does anyone know the address?!"

Several people looked over and took a glance at his professional looking clothes before anger bloomed to life on the faces of several.

"What a typical reporter. Benefiting from someone else's suffering and death."

"You don't understand! I was here to visit my little sister, she just moved into this neighbourhood after our parents death!" He spat, his hand reaching into his pocket so he could withdraw a piece of paper.

"Well what's the address of your sister?"

"2543 Ekaf street."

The people who were listening went silent and Tony felt himself pale as his grip on the paper tightened.

"P-please don't say..."

"Man, I'm sorry." The guy who had spoken to him originally said, his own face pale.

Tony stood motionless for a moment before he spun and bolted towards the firefighters and the caution tape, his shoes slapping against the cement.

"Bryanna!"

A couple of firefighters turned and let out shouts for him to stop but he ignored them as he attempted to shove through the the tape that had already been set out by some of the firefighters.

"Let me through! BRYANNA!" He shouted, his voice pitchy and scared.

Before he could get clear of the tape he was tackled to the ground by two of the men, pinned down as he struggled to pull free.

"Stop! You can't do anything now! They house is fully engulfed, even the firefighters can't go in!" One man yelled.

"But my little sister lives there!" He shouted as he tried to jerk free from their grip and get out from under the one pinning him down.

"Anyone in that house is dead! You can't help her now!"

Tony froze before going limp, his mouth slightly agape as his eyes went glassy and unfocused. He stared blankly up at the sky, the stars obscured by the billowing smoke.

Why did it have to be her?

* * *

Tony walked into the softly lit house with a giggle, abnormally cheerful. He had just gotten home from the party and although he wasn't fully drunk, he was more then a little bit tipsy.

"I'm gonna watch a moooooooovie." He sang to himself, off key.

He weaved his way into the family room with a goofy grin, slapping at the wall a few times before finding the light switch and turning it on. He made his way further into the room, stumbling slightly into the table and placing his hand down on the face of the table only to freeze as his hand came to rest on the form of a Barbie.

His smile wavered before fading as he looked down at the form of a brown haired, brown eyed Barbie girl. The plastic was slightly melted from heat and the light purple dress it wore had ash smudges. The firefighters had found it in the trunk of the car that had been parked furthest from the house. Still melted from the heat, but not destroyed.

Anger and pain filled him and he glared at the doll for a moment before placing it back down on the table, his eyes flitting over to the couch where his mothers sewing basket sat next to a large fluffy blanket that Bryanna had left behind for when she came to visit. Not that it would do much good now.

He gave his head a angry shake before turning and almost running out of the room and down the hall to the kitchen where he blearily looked around before his eyes fixed themselves on a cabinet mere feet away.

"Tonight your going to forget." He mumbled to himself, weaving over to the cabinet where his father's liquor had been stored, pulling a bottle of vodka out of the cupboard and somehow managing to open the bottle before raising the mouth of the bottle to his lips and taking a gulp.

The liquid burned down his throats and he closed his eyes, the feeling one he welcomed. He had taken several swallows before opening his eyes again, his unfocused gaze falling on the framed family photo on the opposite wall that his mom had hung.

He stared at the photo for a long moment, his mind drifting to the day that the picture had been taken. His hand around the neck of the bottle instinctively tightened and jerked him back into reality, causing him to stare down at the bottle before looking back up at the photo, his eyes lingering on his mom and Bryanna.

When he came home drunk once and his mom had seen she had cried for hours, promising not to say anything to his father so long as he never drank again. Bryanna had cried too. But he had never stopped, simply managed to keep it secret from his mom. Bryanna had known, she had caught him sneaking in late several times, but had never ratted him out.

Self revulsion filled him as he stared down at the bottle in his hand. They had died and he was trying to forget their memory by drinking.

"Damn it!" He snarled, hurling the bottle at the floor and watching as it shattered.

He lurched back and with a muffled sob fled the kitchen just as the sound of a door being flung open could be heard and Obadiah rushed into the main hall.

"Anthony! Is everything alright?!"

Tony looked around desperately, his eyes flitting from memory to memory to memory before he gave a half yell half cry and slammed his fist into the wall next to him.

"I can't do this anymore! Everyday I come home to this damn house and their ghosts haunt me! Everywhere I look pieces of them are lying around and I can't get through the day anymore without getting drunk off my ass. I swear to God that if I stay here any longer I'm going to lose my mind!" Tony snarled.

"But what are you going to do with the house?!"

"I'm picking the things that matter and packing them in a box to take with me. The rest I don't care about. Sell it, donate it, burn it. It's all the same to me. I'm selling this house and leaving this city for good. Dad bought property in Malibu that he never developed, I'll build myself a mansion fitting of the Stark name."

"Anthony..."

"I won't be imprisoned by their memories Obadiah. I'm a Stark, and a Stark never lets his circumstances get the better of him. I'm leaving this behind, and if I ever return it'll be because hell's frozen over."

* * *

So what did you think? Reviews are welcome! Flames shall be laughed at, posted for others to laugh at, and ignored as I continue the story.


	11. Four Years

Hello all

here is the last update for this week, this chapter is serving as a bridge between young Bryanna and HYDRA facing Bryanna. I hope you all enjoy! I'd love to hear what you all think of the changes to how I publish her story and the newest chapters:)

* * *

 **Four Years**

* * *

 ** _(One year later)_**

"Y'all have a good afternoon!" Misty called to her customers as the little bell above her diner door rang cheerfully with their exit.

Once they were gone she navigated out from behind her counter and set to work cleaning their table, humming softly under her breath. She was in the process of washing the table when she heard the tv.

"I can't believe it's already been a year since the tragedy that hit one of the post prestigious and well known families that lived here and even now the shockwave of those deaths is still felt."

Instantly all work froze and Misty straightened before looking over at the tv with suddenly teary eyes as the two news anchors continued to talk.

"A tragedy indeed! When I heard about what had happened I was broken-hearted for the family! When the owner of Stark Enterprises Howard Stark and his wife died in a tragic accident, their deaths shocked people around the world and condolences poured in for their two children, their eldest son Anthony Start and their young daughter Bryanna Stark."

The other anchor gave a sad nod.

"Many were indeed affected by the death of Howard and Maria Stark, but the death that truly shocked everyone was the death that took place little over a week later. Their youngest child, their daughter Bryanna Stark, was placed in temporary foster care soon after her parents death. Mere days after going to live with her new foster parents a deadly fire was started in their home and she died alongside her foster parents. Bryanna was part of several community groups and enjoyed helping and the community garden downtown. Many people new the bright and bubbly girl personally and her death in the fire certainly had a impact on a lot of people."

Misty wiped her eyes as she watched the screen.

"Firefighters later confirmed that the fire had been started intentionally, although it is still unknown by whom. The foster father, Brent was a police officer that had worked in their Organized Crime Unit, and unfortunately had more then a couple people who had some serious grudges against the man for the operations he had played a part in shutting down so they are investigating a connection between the two."

A click and the camera panned towards a screen with a picture of a banner that said goodbye Bryanna Stark on it, with a picture next to it sitting on a stool and flowers all around.

"A memorial has been set up at the house in memory of Bryanna today on the first anniversary of her passing for anyone who wishes to lay flowers in memory."

Misty sat down, glancing out the diner window as the coverage changed to the weather.

Oh how she missed the smiling and happy girl.

* * *

 ** _(Two years later)_**

Pepper Potts, the recently hired personal assistant to Tony Stark sighed, blowing her bangs off her face as she stood with one hand braced on her hip. The haphazardly piled boxes all over the storage area made her tired just looking at them.

"I still cannot believe that you told them to just pile them like this! You had two years after originally starting this building project to figure out how to place the boxes in a logical way around this house and yet it still ended up like this!"

"Sorry sweetness, wasn't thinking." Tony called from the other side of the room.

"I cannot believe that I'm actually doing this for you. I don't get near enough for putting up with this." She muttered.

Tony laughed and Pepper rolled her eyes before pulling another box off the stack and checking inside before moving it to the designated spot for boxes that carried that same stuff. Tony would move the piles to the correct places in the mansion as they got too big.

The two of them had fallen into a comfortable rhythm of checking and moving boxes. Eventually the pile began to slowly dwindle and as Pepper lifted another box down, she felt her brow furrow at how light this one was.

Setting it down on the ground she opened the box before her jaw dropped.

"What in the...?"

Reaching inside she withdrew the first object off the top with a mixture of bemusement and confusion. It was a doll. A Barbie doll to be exact. Brown hair, brown eyes, a cute little light purple dress that made her think of a kids dressed. The plastic was slightly melted and the dress had a couple of tiny ash marks. She stared at it with furrowed brows as she set it down on another box.

Again she reached into the box and withdrew a tattered and fluffy blanket, one that smelled faintly of the kids strawberry shampoo one would see in the stores.

"This doesn't make any sense. Why would-"

Upon fully pulling out the blanket she saw a large container sitting in the box on top of what looked like the clothing of a young girl. She withdrew the box, sitting down on the ground and removing the lid.

The first thing at the top of the container was a poorly done drawing in crayon. Messily scrawled in the corner was the word love with what looked to be something like a attempt at a artists signature. Utterly perplexed by everything she was seeing she gently set the picture aside on the box next to the doll.

She went through the papers and realized that they were almost all drawings, each one slowly getting better then the last. There were poems and birthday cards that she didn't open interspersed throughout the pile. The stack of paper was huge and Pepper forwent going through everything in favour for just lifting it all out and looking underneath to see if there was anything that might explain what she was seeing.

There was. Below everything sat a framed photograph and a unframed photo in a plastic baggie that she withdrew so she could study. In the framed photo a much younger Tony sat grinning at the camera, a girl of maybe seven or eight next to him. He wore casual clothing and appeared to be sitting outside on some sort of picnic blanket. The girl was holding a massive cookie and beaming at the camera, leaning against Tony with a utterly content expression.

Pepper stared at the photo, she had a bad feeling that she knew why he had this box full of girls things.

Her eyes then turned to the photo in the baggie and she felt her chest constrict, she was right.

The photo was one that had a waterstain in the corner, one that drew your attention but did not obstruct the view of the memorial set up on what looked to be the side of a road. In the background was a horribly burnt wreak of a house, part of the wall and a good portion of the roof gone. At the very front of the lawn were there was still green grass a sign had been placed that said "Goodbye Bryanna Stark" with flowers and several small stuffed animals around the sign. A photo sat on a tiny stool on one side of the memorial, of Tony with the young girl who was clearly Bryanna on his back.

"Hey! What are you doing? You've been sitting in that corner for a while now, you need a break?" Tony called from his side of the room, his voice getting louder as he approached.

"I didn't know." She whispered.

"What?"

"That you had a daughter. I didn't know..."

"What?! I don't have-"

Tony rounded the corner and fell abruptly silent with slightly widened eyes, shock and alarm flickering across his face for a mere moment before vanishing altogether and being replaced with a tense look as he strode over to her and pulled the box from her, taking the photo back and putting it back in the box wordlessly before replacing the papers and closing the box up.

"Tony-"

"I think that we're done organizing for the day. I'm going to take a break for the night, maybe go a drink and a meal. You go ahead and leave for the night." Tony said in a forced cheerful tone and he quickly repacked the box, handling each item with care before closing the box up and carrying it over to his bedroom pile of boxes.

"Tony, I'm sorry. I didn't know that box had..."

Tony sighed and rubbed his face before turning to face Pepper, his expression closed off even as he attempted a smile.

"It's fine. You didn't do anything wrong. I'll see you tomorrow."

Tony then ushered Pepper out without another word, the door closing behind her and closing her out. Pepper looked at the door for a long moment, confusion and concern filling her as she thought about Tony's behaviour and his mentioning his plan to go for drinks.

With a sigh Pepper turned away from the door and went to her car, climbing in and navigating out onto the street, driving herself home. When she got to her high-rise apartment building and headed up to her apartment, shedding her coat and shoes before locking the door and going straight to her computer.

It took mere moments to boot it up before she was bringing up her search engine, her fingers flying over the keyboard as she brought up the search.

"Bryanna Stark."

Less then a second later search results were popping up on her screen, news reports and interviews. She clicked on the first article and scanned the first couple paragraphs with interest, reading the article talking about Tony's father Howard's appearance with his family, his wife and Tony and his daughter Bryanna.

"So she was his sister..."

She backed out of that article and went to one that explained the girl's death, the corners of her mouth drooping.

"Died weeks after her parents in a fire. How heartbreaking..."

Pepper finished the article, taking note of how she was described as a loving girl who was close to her family and her brother especially. Once she was done she closed the article before leaning back in her seat. This explained a lot of things, Tony's unwillingness to talk about his family, his lack of personal and sentimental photos, and of course the box of girls things.

Sadness filled the woman as she stood to her feet, shutting everything down before curling up on her couch under a blanket as she stared out the window contemplatively. They had mentioned in the article that the girl's remains had never been found, presumably burned beyond recognition. Also, her social worker had mysteriously vanished from life altogether, leaving nothing behind but a Ancient Greek symbol for the goddess Nyx behind at her home, carved into her dining room table. Adding together the lack of remains and the suspicious nature of the fire as well as the strange vanishing of the social worker, Pepper couldn't help but wonder...what if the girl hadn't been in the fire at all?

A moment passed before Pepper shook her head with a soft laugh. She was being foolish right now, of course the girl died. That was just stupid to think otherwise...

Wasn't it?

* * *

 ** _(3 Years Later)_**

Men and woman bustled around in a steel lined facility, carrying clipboards and hurrying in and out of the various rooms lining the hall. In one specific room a put together man stood at the side of a hospital bed, gazing down at the slender figure lying upon it.

"It's been three years since the injection, and still Project Nyx has shown no signs of ever awakening."

A man in a surgical white coat walked over, irritation clear on his face.

"We must have calibrated something wrong. She should have woken up by now! I sincerely apologize for this Mr Pierce, your money may have...not returned the way you had hoped."

Mr Pierce shook his head with a soft sigh before turning to the doctor.

"Well, continue to monitor and keep her on life support in case her body stops self sustaining. This is unusual, but the fact that her body can keep itself going is a good sign."

The doctor nodded with a hint of resignation.

"We will continue to monitor Project Nyx until she awakens or the Baron comes for her. Whichever comes first."

Line:-

(4 Years Later)

A tall brown haired male stood on the balcony of a massive palace, looking out over the shining waves of the water below as blue wisps darted through the air, playing a never ending game of tag.

A hand was outstretched and the male extended a single finger to brush it along a wisp who darted over.

"Prince Rashnu?"

The male turned and his shimmering multicoloured eyes flicked to focus on the servant that stepped out onto the balcony.

"Yes?"

"With the Baron and his right hands dead we have started putting our realm back together. However, upon going through the paperwork that the guard who was secretly working for us left before he..."

Rashnu bowed his head.

"I will be eternally thankful for how much he has helped our underground rebellion to take the throne back from that monster, even to the detriment of his own life. What is the problem?"

"It appears that the strange human weapons that were used against us were obtained through a trade with the humans. In exchange for the weapons, they gave the humans some of our blood. And it was injected into a human to transform and enhance them."

Rashnu nodded tiredly, his hand brushing along his temple as he closed his shimmering eyes.

"I was informed of this. It was my blood that was given to the human."

"What do we do about her?"

"Nothing. Mœshchnóst is in a state of disarray, there are whole massive cities that need to be rebuilt after being burned to the ground. The sex slaves that the Baron took need to be cared for and reunited with their families, the entire realm needs to be united once again without the divide and hate. We cannot bring a human here, humans are the chief cause to my people's suffering and my citizens know this. They will not accept a human, and they certainly will not accept a human that has been altered with my blood."

The servant gaped.

"But what if the human causes problems on Midguard?!"

The prince glared out over the balcony.

"I care not. They brought this upon themselves and I will not cause further problems in my realm by cleaning up their mess. She will die eventually, the blood does not make her immortal."

"But my prince-!"

"Enough. If I concentrate hard enough, the link through my blood allows me to feel her. She is still asleep, although I can feel she will awaken soon. Her spirit is strong, I anticipate that it won't be long before she will grow and change enough for the connection to be severed, in which case she will not ever have a effect on this world again. Do not worry yourself with the affairs of mortals, all will be made right in due time."

Then he paused, his eyes going unfocused as one brow raised.

"Interesting, I believe the wheel has begun to turn."

* * *

On a table in a lab lay a girl of twelve, the steady sound of her breathing and the beep of her resting heart filling the otherwise silent room.

Beep-beep!

The monitor skipped a beat and the girl took a deeper breath, delicate eyelashes fluttering.

Then with a gasp, shadowed eyes flew open.

* * *

So what did you think? Reviews are welcome! Flames shall be laughed at, posted for others to laugh at, and ignored as I continue the story.


	12. Awaken

Hello all!

Here are the next three chapters for you all, I hope you all enjoy:)

* * *

 **Awaken**

* * *

Darkness.

Bryanna felt as though she was being embraced by the darkness, wrapped and secure and protected. There was a sense of peace and she drifted along in that. A blessed silence, and nothing seemed to break beyond the protective barrier of shadows she could feel cradling her.

Thoughts floated by, pictures of people that felt...familiar in a way but she just didn't recognize. A woman that hugged her and called her darling. A man that simply nodded and turned away, an action that almost pained Bryanna for reasons she did not understand. And a young man with an impish smile, his face stood out the most in her mind out of all the pictures that flashed through, but in time even that face faded from her mind.

Eventually all the pictures drifted into the background, all but leaving her completely. Now they floated around her, sometimes bringing an unsettling sensation with them. She would reach out for them, but they would always slip from her grasp.

And so she drifted. Surrounded by darkness and shadows, no pain of tears. Just nothing. She did not remember where she came from, or why she was here, just that she never wanted to leave this soft place.

A place of peace.

Then the images returned. Colour seeping into the faded grey they had become, darting through her thoughts and bringing a sense of urgency with them. There was something she was missing, she could feel it deep down inside.

She needed to remember.

Bryanna began to greedily reach out for those images, pictures that seemed to mean nothing to her yet filled her with the knowledge that something very important was happening. Those images, the random words that floated in and out of her thoughts carrying a message that she desperately needed to understand.

The grip around her that the shadows had began to loosen, and her thoughts became clear for the first time in what felt like a very, very long time. Phrases forming in her mind that resonated deeply in her heart and she reached out, a ghostly shimmering arm coming up and grasping onto a large picture.

She stared at the image, seeing a cheerful little girl that was waving. Brown hair, a bright smile and soft features. The background of the image faded away, leaving nothing but the girl hanging in space right in front of her. Bright eyes blinked slowly, before the girl's face contorted in pain. Bryanna let out a cry, this had never happened before! After a second of frozen panic she lunged forward to help the girl. As soon as she neared the girl, her form began to dissolve from the bottom up. Before it vanished completely Bryanna watched in shock as bright and gentle eyes began to slowly change, the coloured iris turning smokey black.

She knew that girl, she knew what was happening there, her gut told her that. But why couldn't she remember?!

Her brows furrowed and frustration filled her. She knew this! For the first time she could think of she stopped allowing the comfort to lull her into drifting along, she began to fight for memories she knew she had but felt as though they had been locked away.

Then right in front of her some of the shadows shifted and she saw a chest, large and wooden and Bryanna instantly knew she needed to see inside. Pushing forward, she reached for the chest, trying to open it but failing.

There was a lock.

She pushed aside the shadows obscuring her sight and stared, the lock was made of a simple image, but one that struck a cord deep inside. She knew him.

Brown hair and brown eyes, tall and lean with such an impish smile, bright laughter and teasing comments, ruffled hair and warm hugs.

She _knew_ him.

Bryanna closed her eyes, she needed to know who this was! Everything inside was screaming for her to remember everything. Words spiralling out of control in her mind, making Bryanna dizzy as she tried to figure out which one was the right one.

Then she saw it, glinting faintly red and gold. And beyond a shadow of a doubt Bryanna knew that she had found what she was looking for. That word...no, that name, belonged to the male.

"Tony."

She did nothing more then just barely breath the word but she saw a flash and the chest glowed before the image lock clicked and fell away into the shadows. Reaching slowly forward Bryanna grabbed the lid, opening it and staring down into the glowing mass. The moment the chest lid had been fully opened she felt the chest shake before the glowing contents exploded upright.

"Ahh!"

Bryanna let out a cry as the glowing engulfed her whole, millions of images racing past her mind as her memories filled her, rocking her back from the chest as she stared wide eyed up at nothing, taking it the rapid fire memories.

Her birthday. Going on trips. Her parents. Tony. The accident. Her parents dead. Being taken away from Tony. The foster parents and the lab. The blinding pain. And last of all, the glowing inhuman eyes.

"W-where am I?!" She gasped, her head swinging from side to side as she stared at the murky shadows.

Nothing answered back.

"Tony? Anybody? Please...I-I'm scared."

Still nothing.

Letting out a shaking breath her arms came up to wrap tightly around herself and she closed her eyes, lip trembling.

" **Wake up.** "

Bryanna's head shot up.

Someone had spoken.

"What?"

" **Wake up.** "

The voice was a low timbre, possessing the strangest accent she had ever heard. Bryanna's arms dropped and she stared above her, trying in vain to find the source of the voice that echoed all around.

"Who's there?! What's going on!"

" **Silence yourself. I do not have much time here, the fabric of your mind cannot handle my interference for long. But it appeared that your consciousness needed one more push before you were ready. I no longer wish to be linked to your mind, you are ready to begin your new life. You've been asleep for so long, but now your time has come. Awaken...** "

The voice trailed off and as Bryanna stared straight up she saw a bright circle of light. She reached up, staring far above at the light. She leap into the air, willing herself towards that light.

It was as if the shadows came around her, holding her up and propelling her forward as she raced towards the circle. Closer and closer, until she stared up into the glowing circle at the distorted images beyond. As if in a trance her hand came up, pressing against the glowing barrier and pushing hard against it.

Whatever it was, the barrier began to give under her hand and with one last mighty shove she felt it begin to break.

At once he Shadows began to spin and whirl around her, Bryanna held in the middle of a vortex. Everything around her began to blur as the light blinded her, and as the phantom sensations began to strengthen and the shadows she felt around around her began to fade, she heard one last parting statement.

" **Open your eyes!** "

* * *

So what did you think? Reviews are welcome! Flames shall be laughed at, posted for others to laugh at, and ignored as I continue the story.


	13. Once She Was Eight Years Old

Hello again!

Here is the next chapter:) Some of you eagle-eyed readers might have noticed that this chapter name is the same as a previous chapter I posted. Well, funny story, I had originally planned to name that chapter the same as this, then I changed the name, then I forgot to actually change the name on the chapter on here soooo... Lol. Well, aformentioned previous chapter is now called Leaving All Behind:)

Anyway, ignore my random author ramblings and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

* * *

 **Once She Was Eight Years Old**

* * *

Bryanna let out a gasp and bolted upright, machines that lined the bedside going off frantically as she took massive gulps of air and reached out blindly. Her vision was white, she couldn't see anything!

Her pulse raced out of control as she heard a door slam open and several voices sounding urgently as activity milled around her.

"Who's there?! I can't see! I can't see!" She sobbed, terror wracking her body.

A cold sensation began to drift up and down her arms, like a soothing caress but it didn't calm her. She cried out again, grasping for someone, anyone, begging for someone to help her.

"Sir! The shadows!" A voice shouted.

"Get her settled! We have no idea how those shadows will effect us!"

It was the doctor, the one that had done this to her. Her pulse began to race and her whole body shook, terror and anger mixing together and creating a dangerous combination as she leapt forward, teeth bared as she thrust her hands towards the doctor's voice.

As she lunged forward the soft cold carressing consumed her whole body making her feel almost frozen and her hands startled tingling. Right in front of her there was a tortured scream, causing Bryanna to let out a startled cry and scuttle back from the sound, her hands coming down and the strange sensation in her hands vanishing.

"Doctor!" Someone shouted.

"Someone help that assistant!" The doctor howled.

Then there was a gurgle and Bryanna started sobbing hysterically, her body visibly jerking with the force of her shakes.

"Sedate her!"

There was a jerk on the needle in her arm and suddenly warmth began to fill her veins, making her eyes grow heavy. Bryanna let out a muffled whimper before her eyelids shut and she felt herself begin to fall back into the oblivion.

* * *

The room was dimly lit when Bryanna opened her eyes again. Exhaustion weighed her limbs down and as full awareness came to her, she found her will to move all but completely non-existent.

"Hello?" She called out softly, her brows furrowing when she realized that her voice sounded different then she remembered from when she went under. Maybe that blood effected her voice too.

"Project Nyx, please remain calm. We will be in momentarily, but first we want you to adapt to your surroundings. You are in a hospital bed right now, hooked up to various types of equipment to monitor your vitals and we request that you do not try to remove any of it." Someone said through the intercom system.

She blinked a few times, each time her vision clearing up further and allowing her the ability to see her surroundings. Like the person had said, she could see medical equipment on either side of her and the soft beeping filled the room.

"My name isn't project Nyx." She finally said, her thoughts clouded as she tried to piece together what was going on.

The person did not answer and Bryanna attempted to relax back against the table as she waited. After a bit she heard a clang and she strained her neck so she could look. Three people wearing white coats and masks entered the room, quickly checking the monitors around her as one of them used a stethoscope to check her.

"Are you going to inject me again? Am I okay? D-did the blood hurt me?!"

The words poured from her lips and she found herself unable to stop them. She knew that these horrible people wouldn't care if the strange glowing blood had hurt her, but her fear wouldn't let her stay silent.

"You are medically sound, and there is no more blood to inject. Relax." One of the men checking her over snapped gruffly.

Her mouth clacked shut at his tone, flinching away from the man as he continued to check her and the monitors.

"Your medical tests have all come back fine. The blood did no damage to you. And now that you're awake, we can finally move you out of the medical procedure room." A woman said, the people around her fiddling with the machines before removing the equipment connections from her.

Bryanna slowly sat up, hugging herself tightly as she glanced around fearfully. Once all the equipment had been moved out of the way the woman came to her side and helped her to stand, Bryanna's knees buckling and nearly giving out under her. The people in the white coats that were taking care of her caught her just in time before pulling her upright once again.

"Your muscles are just readjusting to use again." One doctor said.

"O-okay." She whispered, grabbing tightly to the supporting arm and allowing them to walk her forward. It took a few steps before the shaking in her limbs died down to a manageable level and she could walk with only a little support.

"I can't believe her muscles still work so well. You'd think she's only been out a week or so, instead of..."

Bryanna looked over in confusion at the way he trailed off. Had she really been out for a while? Several weeks? A month?

She was lowered into a wheelchair before they left the silent room and as Bryanna's wheelchair was pushed into the hall she recoiled back from the sudden influx of noise. There were people in surgical scrubs and uniforms bustling all over the facility.

She was pushed through the maze of halls to in front of a thick metal door. One of the men went up to a keypad and pushed a hidden code in before watching as the door swung open.

Once she had been pushed inside Bryanna looked around to see a thin cot and a hospital blanket laid out, along with a small toilet and sink/water fountain in the corner. The woman pulled her roughly off the wheelchair and Bryanna stumbled forward as the chair was removed.

"Welcome to your new room." The man droned.

Bryanna straightened, standing on shaking legs as she moved over to the cot.

"What's going to happen to me?"

"We aren't going to kill you if that's what you're asking."

Bryanna's head shot up and she let out a whimper as the oh so familiar voice sounded in the doorway. It was the doctor that had done this to her.

"Then what-"

"It's very simple Project Nyx, we wanted a powerful weapon that could give us the upper hand against our enemies. That blood, combined with your genes, has manifested itself in a very interesting way, and with you and our other useful...tools, HYDRA's rise is guaranteed." The doctor sneered.

It took her a moment to process his words and for the meaning to sink in and she felt all the blood drain out of her face, the weight of his statement making her almost dizzy.

"M-me?! A weapon?! But I'm just a kid! I-I'm only eight!" Bryanna cried out, scuttling back to press herself against the wall.

The doctor laughed coldly, smirking at her weakness and fragility.

"You know, that little statement just might have a affect on me...if you were only eight."

Bryanna froze.

"Oh yes, training a tiny little eight year led girl to become my weapon would be the height of idiocy. A small child cannot handle such training. But you are no longer a small child, in fact you are entering into a entirely different stage then child. Years passed quickly project Nyx."

"Years?! T-That's impossible."

Her panicky whisper only made the doctors twisted smile grow and he gestured to the man behind him.

"I figure that you might need some proof. Agent, go grab the mirror for us."

The man moved around the corner and Bryanna wrapped her arms around herself, staring around the room with a darting gaze. She couldn't have been unconscious for years! She would give them a couple of months tops, it was impossible for her to be able to function like this if she had truly been out for years. They were lying, they had to be.

Then the agent reappeared, pulling a thin mirror on wheels into the room.

"Take a look."

"No. No, you're lying! I won't look! I won't!" Bryanna shrieked, turning away from the mirror and squeezing her eyes shut.

"I gave you an order and you will obey!" The doctor snarled, stalking up to her and ripping her away from the wall. He grabbed onto her head and twisted her head to face the mirror, holding it in place as she was forced to face her own reflection.

She was taller, much taller. Her cheeks had lost a bit of the baby fat. Her fingers now were mor tapered and thin, no longer were they stubby as they had been when she had been taken.

She had two bumps on her chest, she was not so stupid that she didn't know what they were. And her hips were almost...thicker.

Her eyes danced over the mirror and she began to hyperventilate, her eyes fixing on a reflection that proved the horrifying truth of the doctor's words.

"This can't be real, you're tricking me! T-That has to be it, you're just doing this to-to-..."

"To what? There is nothing gained by lying about your age." The doctor started, meeting her eyes in the mirror. "You were unconscious for years, four years have passed since you went into a comatose and you did not come out of it once until this year."

Her eyes went impossibly wide and she gasped, her gaze glued to the copy of her that stared back through the glass.

Four years.

She had been eight when she was brought to this nightmare. If four years had passed...

"An eight year old is hardly equipped for the...jobs you would be trained to take on. But a twelve year old on the other hand, you will be more then capable for your position in HYDRA once we're finished with you."

The information hit her like a runaway train and she felt her knees give out from under her, the doctor stepping back as she collapsed onto her hands and knees.

Twelve.

She had lost four years of her life to that shadowed nothing... Tony probably believed she was dead, any searching for her more then likely had ended years ago. She was well and truly alone, left to face these terrorists all by herself.

"But I'm just a kid..." She whimpered, at a loss for anything else she could possibly say yet still knowing it was useless anyways.

"Not anymore you aren't. You never will be again."

* * *

So what did you think? Reviews are welcome! Flames shall be laughed at, posted for others to laugh at, and ignored as I continue the story.


	14. The Marking

Hello all!

This is the last chapter of this particular update, and I do need to give a bit of a warning. There will be some violence against Bryanna in this chapter, somewhat similar to what Bucky Barnes dealt with when he was under HYDRA so just be prepared.

* * *

 **The Marking**

* * *

Bryanna sat on the edge of her bed, staring around the room she was locked into. It had been a couple of days since she had been placed in here to stay, and so far no one had done anything with her. She was being fed three times a day, and the food was perfectly palatable. No one really spoke with her, but there was a large barred window on her door and she could see people passing her window through the day.

She was starting to think that maybe they had changed their mind...that maybe they weren't going to do anything to her afterall! She wasn't strong enough to fight, for them she was pretty much useless.

Bryanna stood, walking over to the door and peering out at the people passing by for a moment before strolling away with a sigh. She wandered over to the water fountain, filling her cupped hands with water before moving to the corner of the room and slowly letting the water dribble out into the floor. She moved her hands in patterns, going back to the sink/fountain several times to refill her hands so she could finish her project.

Several minutes later she stepped back, grinning at her accomplishment. She had created a DIY version of hopscotch. All the squares were relatively lined up and glad for the chance to alleviate her boredom Bryanna playing hopscotch with only her water made squares, and the pillow from her bed.

She was partway into her game when she heard voices and footsteps stop right outside her bedroom door. The sound of the keypad being pressed caused Bryanna to jerk and she looked up curiously. Were they serving the food early today?

Then the door was pushed open and before she could react two burly men strode up to her, roughly yanking Bryanna to her feet.

"Ow!"

The men ignored her cry and with one grabbing either arm, the girl found herself being pulled to the door of the room. She was pulled to a halt in front of the Doctor that seemed to be overseeing her, the man barely sparing her a glance before he started down the hall. The men followed, causing Bryanna to stumble as she tried to keep up, the fear that had been shoved to the back of her mind filled her as she was dragged through the halls.

"Where are you taking me?!"

There was no response and she tried feebly to pull free, her captors grip not loosening on her.

Eventually they reached another room, one that was bigger and had higher ceilings that was filled with gym equipment. She was brought to the centre of the room and abruptly released, Bryanna nearly falling but somehow managing to keep herself upright as the doctor approached.

"Today you begin your training Project Nyx, we will run tests on any physical enhancement that this blood may have given to you."

Bryanna shook her head as hard as she could, backing away from the man once again. She wasn't going to be a weapon, she just wasn't!

"That wasn't a question, nor was it negotiable. You will do as I say." The doctor snarled.

"No I WON'T!" She shouted, anger and fear coming out in rebellion.

Rage filled his face and the man's hand lashed out, striking her violently across the face. Bryanna let out a cry, her head snapping back with an audible sound.

"I will not say this again Project Nyx. You have no say, you have no right. You belong to us, and you will do what we say. Do you understand?"

Bryanna said nothing but nodded, tears slowly sliding down her face as her cheek already showed signs of being puffy.

"I want you to start running the track along the outside of the gym. You do not stop running until I say so."

She nodded again and a female attendant came over, placing a shirt and pants into Bryanna's arms.

"Change into that, and then you will run."

Bryanna looked around for a change room and the doctor snorted.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Get changed."

She stared at him for a moment.

"Where do I go?"

She expected him to tell her where to go, but he merely laughed coldly.

"Nowhere. You change right where you're standing. You don't need a private room to change your clothes." He sneered.

She froze, eyes wide. The attendant pushed the clothes at her and when she didn't take them the doctor stepped forward, hand raised threateningly. She let out a whimper before snatching the clothes away and haphazardly pulling them on, humiliation filling her as she hurriedly changed under the scrutinizing gazes of the doctor and the five other people that were overseeing her.

She didn't understand this, why were they doing this?!

She changed out of the hospital gown and into the stretchy running clothes before looking over at the doctor, swallowing back her tears of anger and embarrassment.

"Start running! Now!"

Bryanna obeyed, too shaken by being struck and being forced to strip in front of them to change.

* * *

"But I can't run any longer!" Bryanna wailed, dragging her legs that felt like led.

The doctor ignored her words.

"You will RUN!"

"B-but I can't!"

With that she stopped, plopping down on the track as she panted heavily. Her chest burned and her legs felt like jelly. She didn't even look up when she heard someone approach and stop in front of her.

"I-?!"

A hand grabbed the collar of her shirt and she was jerked up, forced to face the doctor.

"Did I give you permission to stop?"

"No, but I can't keep going!"

A snarl flickered across his face and he gave her a violent shake, the action Bryanna's neck to snap back with the force of his shake.

"You don't stop until I say. Now get going!" He shouted, throwing her in the direction she was supposed to be running.

Bryanna let out a half sob but obeyed his order, she didn't understand why this was happening! Why were they doing this?!

She forced herself to run, legs screaming as she stumbled.

"Stop."

Letting out a relieved breath she collapsed to the ground for a second time, panting and blinking as she tried to clear the haze of tears.

"Take her back to her room." A distant voice ordered.

Hands grabbed her and jerked her to her feet, pulling her down the halls back to her room where she was thrown inside. She managed to steady herself on the wall as she stumbled from the force of their action, hearing the door slam and lock behind her.

There were still the smear marks from her Hopscotch game, but she barely payed them any attention as she staggered to the bed and crawled under the covers. Her muscles were screaming and Bryanna was utterly overwhelmed by what had just taken place.

"Why..." She whispered, her voice raw.

Why would they do this to her?

* * *

The sound of flesh striking flesh echoed through the room, followed by a shout.

"You utter incompetent! You made a mistake in your recitation, only a simple minded fool would make a mistake on such a simple memorization, do it again!"

The doctor whom she had learned to call Dr Maximov glared at Bryanna who sat in a chair, held down by restraints. Massive bags under the girls eyes could be seen and bruises could be seen on her pale cheeks. Her body no longer looked properly nourished as it had when she had been in comatose, now she looked underfed and exhausted.

"Those who call themselves justice are unworthy of controlling the world as they do. They must make way for the rightful rulers of this earth, and those who dare to apposed shall fall under the wrath of HYDRA. HYDRA is the only true right way, they are the only way, we must all serve them and willingly give ourselves to the glorious purpose they strive to achieve. It is my destiny in life to make way for the way of HYDRA, and to fail in my missions is to fail my purpose on this earth. Hail Hydra." Bryanna whispered, desperate and willing to do almost anything to avoid punishment.

A rare nod of approval could be seen and the Dr beckoned an attendant over.

"Good. You may have your reward now."

The blank faced woman approached Bryanna and knelt down next to her, placing a straw between Bryanna's lips and allowing her to suck greedily at the water. All to soon the straw was pulled away and although Bryanna tried to reach forward to get one last sip she was not able to catch the straw one last time before the attendant stepped back and once again Bryanna was face to face with the doctor.

"Now, to make up for your failures you will recite three more times. Then you may return to your room and eat a late dinner."

Bryanna swallowed hard, pushing aside her anger and fear so that once again she could recite the mantra they had been teaching her right from after that first nightmarish day of training.

"Those who call themselves justice are unworthy of controlling the world as they do..."

* * *

Bryanna felt the cut open on her face as the guard struck her on the doctor's orders. She spat on the floor at his feet, defiance and anger filling her.

"I don't care, I DON'T CARE!" She screamed, voice raw and tears mixing with blood as they slid into the cuts that lined her face, the salt making the cuts burn. "I WON'T KILL!"

"You will do exactly what we tell you or-"

"NO! I would rather die then kill anyone! So kill me!" Bryanna shouted, glaring up through a haze at the doctor above.

There was a dark laugh before the doctor crouched down in front of her, reaching over and grabbing her face to jerk it up, bringing her eyes to his.

"Oh, I won't kill you. In fact I don't even have to touch you. But if you don't do as I say, I'll kill others. Your precious "family"? Aunt Peggy? Rhodey? Your butler Jarvis? I can easily kill them. Bring them here and make them suffer. Make them watch as we slowly kill the others in front of them."

Her stomach twisted at his words and her resolve faltered.

"You won't. You wouldn't risk revealing yourself by killing all of them. Kidnapping them all at the same time to kill them would bring to much attention to you." Bryanna shot back, meeting his gaze in defiance.

The doctor's face twisted and he released her, letting her drop to the floor again. She landed hard and lay there glaring up at the doctor who turned away and waved the guards off.

"You know what? You are exactly right. Killing all of them would bring unneeded attention to us. However, I doubt that just one person vanishing would possibly be noticed in a way that would inconvenience us." The twisted smirk grew and he tilted his head mockingly as he gazed down at her.

"Like for example, if we were to bring a young man who likes to call himself Tony. I'm sure you've heard of him, heir to Stark Enterprises and so very foolishly leavinhimself open to us."

It was like a cement brick had just been dropped on her stomach, driving all the air out of Bryanna and she shoved herself upright to face him fully.

"No!"

Doctor Maximov laughed, lifting his foot and kicking her in the chest to knock her backwards onto the floor. She snarled and tried to scramble to her feet but before she could the guards grabbed her arms, holding her back as the doctor reached out to grab her neck.

"Wouldn't it be awful for him? To be ripped out of his comfortable life and taken here. He'd learn that his precocious baby sister was still alive, and just when he thought he would finally be reunited he would be forced to watch your punishment. Every cut, every blow, every time you screamed out. Forced to watch it all. And just when he couldn't take it any longer, it's his turn."

Bryanna gasped desperately for air, her lungs screaming for air as she strained in the guards grip and clawed uselessly at the air.

"You would watch as we strapped down, stripped him of his will and dignity. You would be forced to sit and watch as we slowly cut into him, every movement of the knife summoning screams. We would tell him that this wouldn't have happened if you had just obeyed, that you had chosen your comfort over his life."

Tears rolled down her cheeks and her struggles weakened, stars dancing in front of her eyes from lack of oxygen. Her eyesight was dimming, but every word he spoke burrowed through her mind, filling her mind with nightmarish images of her brother subject to the twisted mentality of HYDRA.

"Every second of his living hell he would know it was because of you. He would hate you, and the last thing you would see as we slit his throat is the hate and resentment in your dearest brothers eyes as he died." He hissed in her ear, sadistic pleasure and excitement filling his voice. "So please do. Please resist and continue to fight. I want to do this, I want to watch you fall apart as you watch your last family member writhe in agony on my surgical table."

"S-Stop..." Bryanna choked out.

"Release her."

The hands that held her back let her go and she almost collapsed to her knees, held up by nothing more then the doctor's grip on her neck.

"You are nothing more that a useless halfbred monster. We give you a reason to live by making you our weapon, be grateful for that."

With that he released her neck, watching her crumple to the floor as a gagging Bryanna gasped for air.

"Never forget that we own you. You are HYDRA property, and you will submit to us."

* * *

"The higher ups want her marked today, before we go any further. She belongs to HYDRA, it's time she looks the part." Was the first thing that Doctor Maximov declared as he strode briskly into the room.

Bryanna stood between the two burly guards, held in place with no escape as she tried to yank free and twisted her head to stare pleadingly at the doctor.

"Let me go! I haven't done anything wrong! I passed my recitations, and I never stopped during training! P-please don't punish me!" She begged, her eyes wide and panicked as he nodded to one of his assistants.

She watched the assistant withdraw blue surgical gloves and pull them on with a snap, both him, her guards, and the doctor laughing at her terrified reaction to the sound.

"This isn't punishment, think of it as...being assigned your place in life. ." The doctor said calmly, picking up a clipboard.

A woman holding scissors approached, gathering her her long hair into a loose ponytail, Bryanna watching out the corner of her blurring eyes as her dark brown hair fell past her gaze onto the floor. She sobbed, watching one of her last connections to her past being cut off and brushed to the floor.

Bryanna was shaking with fear, watching as the assistant walked over to where in the corner of the room a furnace sat. He pulled open the door and withdrew a rod, turning to face her and revealing the flat circle on the end that held a raised imprint of the HYDRA sign.

A brand.

They were going to brand her.

"Ohgodnonononono!"

She struggled violently as the guards lifted her by her arms off the ground and carried her to the bed in the corner, throwing her onto it face down and wrestling her down.

Hands grabbed her from all sides as the assistants helped hold down the terrified girl, pinning her legs and restraining her arms as Bryanna tossed her head begging and sobbing.

Then a hand grabbed her head and held it down to the bed, her hospital gown being yanked open from behind and baring her shoulders and back to the air.

She heard footsteps coming, closer and closer. The hissing metal filling Bryanna's ears as the footsteps finally stopped right next to her.

"Ready...and now!"

Screams and howls, echoing through the room and out into the rest of the facility. It was a haunting sound, one that plagued many of those who heard it.

The sound of a terrified girl in agony.

And the sound of someone who was starting to break.

* * *

So what did you think? Reviews are welcome! Flames shall be laughed at, posted for others to laugh at, and ignored and I continue the story.


	15. Broken

Hello all!

First off, thank you to those of you who are following and favouriting this story, I appreciate your support. To those of you who are reviewing this, I am eternally greatful for the feedback, I love hearing all your thoughts on the chapters, it's really encouraging to hear the impact of the chapters:)

So I need to give a **major trigger warning** to people in this chapter. As those of you who have seen the Captian America movies will know, when dealing with the Winter Solder they had almost complete control over him due to brainwashing. Most of that absolutely came from the mind wiping machine, however another tactic that as far as I can tell was also used would have been psychological torture in order to fully break down anyone that needed to serve them. For this particular chapter Bryanna will be facing that psychological torture, and for some readers I understand how this would be deeply disturbing to them.

I apologize for what I'm going to be putting readers through in this chapter, I promise things get better! In fact, I have a bit of an interesting addition to the story that comes in next chapter that I look forward to sharing with you guys:) So just hang in there!

* * *

 **Broken**

* * *

"Project Nyx, the doctor wants you to do five sets of push-ups and sit-ups before he arrives."

Bryanna's matted hair swung in front of her face as the sheer exhaustion that dragged her down every day loosened her hold on her temper and with a half growl half sob she turned on the doctor's assistant that stood in the training room with her.

"Stop calling me that! Just stop! I hate it, I'm a person not your stupid project! I'm Bryanna Stark! Do you understand me?! I'm BRYANNA STARK!"

Her high pitched shout was punctuated by the sound of the door slamming in as the absolutely enraged doctor stalked into the room, followed by two of his helpers that followed him around constantly.

"What did you just say?"

The hatered and disgust in his tone made Bryanna cower, she knew that tone. That tone meant punishment. But she was far to angry and exhausted to close her mouth as he approached.

"I said that I'm Bryanna Stark! I'm not a project, and I'm not an item! I'm a person!" She snapped, tone wavering.

His face twisted and his hand raised, Bryanna's eyes closing and arms coming up in preparation for the strike.

But it never came.

There was a second pause before Bryanna let out a shriek as he grabbed her hair and ripped upwards, hair pulling free of her scalp and the rest used to force her to face him.

"You disgust me. We have given you more then anyone else in your position could ever ask for, a clean and private room, a bed and blanket and pillow, a toilet and fresh water, we feed you and allow you to sleep, and yet you pay us back with such selfishness and ungratefulness!" He spat, spittle hitting her cheeks and forehead.

"You belong to us, you are an item, and throwaway tool. You are not a human, you are a worthless hybred that the humans outside of this facility would gladly kill if they knew what you were. You're disgusting, and abomination. Bryanna Stark is dead, she died the day the blood was injected. You are Project Nyx, nothing more. You will never be anything more than our weapon!"

Bryanna sobbed and grabbed at her hair, trying to alleviate the ripping.

"I'm not. I'm not! I'm a person! I won't be a weapon! I'll be Bryanna! I'm not dead!"

His face turned bright red and he shook her before dragging her forward by her hair, his assistants gasping as Bryanna howled in pain. One of the female assistants rushed forward, trying to help Bryanna up while she stared up at the doctor.

"Sir! Isn't this a bit much?!"

"Silence! We cannot go any further until Project Nyx accepts the reality that she is not an equal, and she is not a worthy human. She is a nothing." He gave another jerk to her hair and glared down at her. "Do you hear me? You are nothing. By the end of this, you will learn this truth. We begin now."

He dropped her to the ground and the guards that accompanied her everywhere when she was with the Doctor grabbed her and yanked her to her feet before starting out of the room and down the hall behind the doctor.

"No wait! I-I'll obey! I promise! P-please don't hurt me!" She begged, straining against the iron grips of her guards. She tried digging her heels into the floor to stop their progress but the men only gave a tug and she stumbled forward once again.

Before she knew it, she had been thrown into yet another room, tripping and landing on the ground as the door slammed behind her with a hollow boom. The sound made Bryanna yelp and she scrambled to her feet, rushing to the back of the room and plastering her back against the wall as she stared around her.

Her eyes darted around and she took where she was. There was nothing, it was blank and empty aside from her. White walls, a white ceiling and a white floor. The door was made of steel like the door to her own room.

Several moments passed of eery silence, nothing and no one could be heard. Bryanna slowly pushed off from the wall and cautiously approached the door. Upon reaching it, realization hit her that there was no window or peephole on the door. She was completely isolated.

"Ookayy..." She mumbled, backing up and surveying the room again before going and sitting down.

Maybe they had put her in here until the doctor had cooled down. She sighed and relaxed back against the wall, eyes drifting shut.

"BWABOOMBWABWABOOMBOOM!"

Bryanna let out a startled shriek, leaping to her feet and clasping her hand over her ears as a heavy base boomed through the room. The powerful base was quickly joined by the sound of clashing symbols, screaming voices and hisses, car horns and an eery whining beep. A cacophony of noises that fought over eachother to dominate the deafening track. It was turned up to painful levels, causing her to cry out and try to bury her head in her lap, hands clenched tightly over her ears.

"S-stop! STOP!"

But it didn't stop, not for what felt like days.

She changed her mind. The nightmare hadn't started when she arrived here and was given the blood. The nightmare was starting now.

* * *

"Who are you?"

"I'm Bryanna Stark!" She screamed at the ceiling, where the voice came from.

The soundtrack was turned down every time the doctor spoke, but it was constantly there tormenting her.

"You are nothing." Was the response as the volume to the soundtrack began to creep up again, the chaos and mess of sound making the girl dive into the corner where she clasped her hands over her ears and started rocking, singing her own song to try and drown out the noise.

But it just wouldn't stop. It drowned out her voice, the sounds of her moving and her breathing. It drowned out her thoughts, and worked through her head. It tormented her, and she had no way to escape.

"Project Nyx."

Her head shot up, usually it was a several hour period between his speaking to her. The sounds were turned down again, and she was willing to take any reprieve offered.

"W-what?"

"I am giving you a second chance. All you have to do is admit who you truly are, and you can leave. Now, who are you?"

Bryanna's body shook as silent tears trickled down her cheeks. All she wanted right now is for this to be over. But she couldn't give in, she couldn't admit defeat and let them make her into someone else.

"I'm Bryanna Stark."

There was a tisk and a sigh.

"I gave you the chance to fix your behaviour, but you turned it down. You brought his on yourself..."

Bryanna looked up at the ceiling in confusion only to be blinded by the flash of a white light. She gasped, squeezing her eyes shut although white still danced in front of her vision. Her body

"WHY! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS!" She howled, writhing in her corner as her senses were overloaded with the flashing lights and nightmarish sounds.

Nothing. Nothing was done and no one responded as Bryanna was once again abandoned to the torment.

She could only stand strong so long until they broke her down fully, Bryanna just prayed she could could hold out until someone, anyone would help her.

* * *

"Who are you?"

"I'm Bryanna Stark." She said listlessly, her mouth dry and her stomach growling.

No food had been delivered to her yet, she was hungry and exhausted. She barely got any sleep, only a small pockets here and there as her body grew too exhausted to carry on and even despite the sounds and intermittent periods of the flashing lights still forced her into sleep.

"Are you sure?"

"...yes." She whispered.

"Very well."

Bryanna knew this routine off by heart now, her hands clenched over her ears and she tried to drown out the sounds. They came, as she expected and she simply closed her eyes.

But then everything went silent, her eyes widening and her head shooting up.

Several moments passed, turning into minutes and finally she cautiously dropped her hands from her ears.

"W-what's going on?"

There was no answer.

Bryanna stared at the door for the longest time before shifting to lay down on the ground, waiting for whatever came next.

But nothing came.

Time passed, Bryanna's body telling her that hours were going by without incident. She had no idea the time, although from what she had worked out from the doctor's interruptions to the music to ask her who she was, she had been in here for at least a day and a half.

Eventually her mind relaxed and Bryanna felt herself beginning to drift, eyes sliding shut and her body relaxing.

The lights flashed wildly, jerking her into wakefulness as she bolted upright. She looked up at the ceiling when the extra flashing lights stopped, waiting for the question to come. It had been far longer then usual for his question, and uneasiness at the disturbance to the cycle that had given her some sort of connection to the world outside this room. But the doctors voice never sounded, and no one spoke to her.

There was just silence.

Her body sagged, and she lay back down cuddling her arms against herself as she stared at the wall across from her blankly.

She was completely by herself, and despite the fact that she had been the only one in the room from the moment they had out her in here, she had never fully felt isolated.

But now...she was truly alone.

* * *

Brenda Sinclare stood next to her boss looking at the video feed of the girl on the screen. Since she had joined HYDRA she had willingly worked alongside the doctor and all the other agents, determined to bring down the weak government and aid HYDRA in it's rise to power. It was what she lived for, and she never questioned the things she was asked to do.

She had murdered, she had lied, she had betrayed and destroyed. And she had never felt pity.

But as she stared at the twelve year old girl lying on the cement floor she felt a sense of complete and utter wrongness fill her.

"Doctor, she looks dead! You can only tell she isn't because you can see her breathing, she hasn't even shifted in hours!"

"It's because of the sleep deprivation." He answered distractedly as he wrote something down on the papers in front of him.

"Don't you think she's had enough?" Brenda asked, her tone strained.

This was worse then anything she had ever done before. This wasn't a game, this wasn't an adult. This was a child.

"Let's see, shall we?" The doctor remarked, standing and stretching before turning to her and the guards in the corner waiting.

"Let's go pay her a visit."

Brenda followed her boss out of the monitoring room and crossed the hall to the windowless metal door, watching as the doctor punched in the code and unlocked the door. As he pushed it open Brenda stepped in behind him and stared at the girl who lay there.

"Who are you?" Was the first words out of the doctor's mouth.

Brenda waited for the girl to sit up and say the same words she had been all along. To say that she was Bryanna Stark with that stubborn determination.

But she never did.

She just lay there.

"I asked you a question." The doctor spat, his tone dangerous.

A moment passed before the girl slowly began to sit up. She looked up at them, hair moving out of her face to reveal her eyes. At the sight of the girl's eyes Brenda flinched, her throats tightening.

There was no emotion, no fear or stubbornness, or anger. There was just dull listlessness, the spark in her eyes nearly gone. In that moment Brenda knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the doctor had nearly achieved his goal.

To break Bryanna Stark.

"Answer the question, who are you."

Bryanna blinked slowly and Brenda waited on baited breath for her next words.

"I am nothing..."

A shaking breath was taken before the girl finished her statement.

"I am Project Nyx."

* * *

So what did you think? Reviews are welcome! Flames shall be laughed at, posted for others to laugh at, and ignored as I continue the story.


	16. The Mentor

Hello again!

Wow, so now that the intense chapter is done I can move onto the chapters that I enjoyed writing a whole lot more then the last one. Before we start this chapter however, I apologize if that chapter came across choppy or stilted in any way. Last chapter was one of the mout difficult chapters I have ever done before out of all the stories I've written yet. I've done torture scenes before, I've done gruesome murder scenes, I've even written a psychological horror onceshot for another fandom. But writing a chapter where a twelve year old child went through such horror was extremely painful and hard. I did extensive research on psychological torture before writing that last chapter, and what I discovered made me almost ill. It's beyond comprehension how twisted humans are when they can come up with and do these things to their fellow man.

Hopefully you enjoy the future chapters to come, like I said last chapter there's a interesting edition coming near the end of this update and I look forward to hearing what you all think!

* * *

 **The Mentor**

* * *

Bryanna sat facing the doctor who stared at her intently.

"Project Nyx, your physical training schedule is progressing smoothly at this point, which now allows us to introduce the next phase of your training."

As he spoke he accepted a clipboard and pen from his assistant, glancing over at Bryanna who sat straight as and arrow with hands clasped in her lap.

"What's the new training?" Her voice was quiet and dull, no hint of the attitude and emotion that it had held when she first arrived.

"The blood we retrieved comes from a otherworldly species, one that possesses powerful magic. When the blood put you into a comatose, we were informed that you would not only possess some measure of otherworly ability, but due to the Baron's interference you would also have control over it. You simply need to find your way to unlock that power." He informed her.

Bryanna tensed.

Power?! A human possessing magic was impossible! Magic wasn't real, it couldn't be!

...but the existence of advanced magic beings living outside of earth was supposed to be impossible as well, but she knew first hand that it really was real.

She looked down at her hands uneasily, they looked completely normal, they weren't glowing and they didn't have any markings or anything.

"If I possessed magic or something, wouldn't I know?"

The Doctor narrowed his eyes.

"I believe I already made it clear that the Baron said you had magic. Whether you can feel it now or not is a moot point. We will uncover it in you by any means nessesary."

His words made Bryanna flinch back, the muscles in her hand twitching. But she sad nothing. The loud, angry voice inside her that had been speaking out since she arrived at the HYDRA facility was silent now, and Bryanna no longer had the confidence to speak her thoughts.

She just didn't want to be hurt anymore.

"How to I find it?" She asked, glancing up at the doctor before looking away again.

Doctor Maximov stood abruptly to his feet, stalking over to Bryanna and leaning over her.

"You will search yourself to find the power, and when you do and you show us, you will practice until it becomes as much a part of you as breathing." He ordered, eyes glittering with a wild light as he grabbed onto her face with a bruising grip. "You will only use the power as we dictate, and if you dare to ever go against us with the magic we gave you then you will be punished in more painful ways then you can imagine. Are we clear Project Nyx?"

"...yes sir."

"Good." He released her with a satisfied look, turning away and walking away.

He retreated behind a protective glass wall where the other assistants and her guards sat before turning to Bryanna. She closed her eyes, sitting as still as possible. She had no idea what she was supposed to be searching for, how was she supposed to find magic?!

Taking a deep breath she let it out slowly before opening her eyes and fixing her eyes on the opposite wall. Bryanna focused her mind, mentally searching for something, anything that felt off.

She had to find this magic, she couldn't risk the doctor having to step in.

* * *

That "off" feeling she was searching for? It took hours to find. Two hours in the doctor had grown impatient and angry, shouting that she wouldn't eat until they found that magic. Her stomach hurt, her head hurt and she was just barely holding back her anger and frustration. She just wanted to find this stupid power!

"Project Nyx...you have exactly one hour before we start using persuasive techniques. Clearly you aren't motivated enough, and I will chance that." Doctor Maximov stated, his voice filled with dark warning.

Bryanna flinched, her hands starting to shake. Persuasive measures, punishments. They were all the same. Her eyes flickered down to her arms, where fading cuts from other punishments could be seen.

"I-I'm trying!"

She could practically feel the minutes ticking down, and sweat beads formed on her forehead. Eventually Bryanna felt her shoulders sag slightly, nothing was coming. The Baron that they spoke of had lied, she had nothing and she certainly could not "know how to use it".

"Times up."

Bryanna said nothing, drooping in her seat. She knew what came next.

But before anyone could move Bryanna felt something...shift. All it took was the soft click to echo through the room and Bryanna's head snapped to the side as she jumped to her feet, taking in the gun aimed at her just as the man behind it began to squeeze the trigger.

BANG!

The gun went off with a deafening crack and Bryanna's hand flew up, a tingling shooting through her entire body as shadows shot from her hand and formed a protective shield in front of her, less than a millisecond before the bullet would hit her.

The bullet slammed into the shield before clattering harmlessly to the ground, leaving a harshly breathing Bryanna to stare wide eyed at the shield before turning to stare at the doctor.

"T-the magic..."

He grinned, the expression unsettling.

"Yes it is. Now pull it back."

Bryanna turned back to her hand, having no idea what she was doing but following her instinct as she pulled her hand towards her and twisted it, the shadows condensing into a ball and settling into her palm before seeming to seep into her skin and vanish altogether.

"Well... I believe that particular attempt was a success. Now we shall start testing your limits." The doctor said, rising slowly to his feet and rounding the shield to approach her before leering down at Bryanna.

"I look forward to seeing where that power can take HYDRA."

* * *

Bryanna was sitting in her room, leaning back against the wall as she stared blankly at the door. The games that she used to play while waiting for her handlers to take her to the gym for her workout seemed so silly now, so pointless.

There was a clank of the lock releasing and the door opened, Bryanna rising from her seat and standing to attention as the guards walked in with the doctor who was smiling. Bryanna stepped back, the expression on Dr Maximov's face making her uneasy.

"Since you began the results that you have been producing in each facet of your training have been being sent to the higher ups that dictate how your training progresses. Several days ago I was informed that the next stage of your training is ready to begin. You will now be trained under a mentor in combat skills, and you will be prepared to begin your place in HYDRA."

"By who?"

The smile grew.

"The strongest assassin in all of HYDRA. Not one of his targets ever has escaped him, and not one killing by him is ever been tied to HYDRA. This particular killer is a master, you are lucky to be his student." He stated, gesturing for the guards to grab her.

She knew better then to struggle in their grip, simply allowing them to pull her along through the sterile halls. She could hear unfamiliar voices as they passed by the gym, Bryanna's brows furrowing as she was pulled past and into the area of the compound for the medical procedures.

"Why are we here?! I thought-"

"Silence! You do not question, you only obey!" The doctor snarled as they swept into a room. She was taken right to a chair in the corner where she was forced down onto it and her wrists were locked to the cuffs on the chair arm.

"What are you doing?! I never did anything! I've been completely obeying! Why am I-why would you punish me?!"

"This isn't a punishment stupid girl. This is your chance for a little more freedom. Not shut up." Doctor Maximov ordered, organizing things on his desk.

An assistant entered the room with a box, handing it to the doctor before grabbing several antiseptic wipes and coming over, moving the ends of her hair aside and rubbing her neck with the cloth. Bryanna's eyes were wide, her breathing uneven as she fought to quell her fear.

The assistant cleaned her entire neck with the antiseptic wipes before stepping back as the doctor came forward. In his hands he held an metal collar, the metal a smooth silver. He opened the collar, the joint in the back allowing the collar to completely open as the doctor slipped it around her neck. The joint pressed uncomfortably against the back of her neck. Moments later he closed it with a snap, the circular metal clasp in the front sporting the logo of HYDRA fitting just against the hollow in her throat.

The doctor examined the collar before reaching down and unlatching the cuffs. Instantly Bryanna pulled her arms free, hands coming up to touch the collar around her neck in puzzlement. Her fingers slid against cold metal before dropping back into her lap.

"This is your ticket to freedom. You can now train without a guard presence, you have more leeway."

"Because I have a collar?" Bryanna questioned, utterly confused by the logic.

The man smirked.

"Yes. Because of the collar. That collar is all we need to keep you in line currently. See this?" He held up a thin black remote, his thumb hovering over a silver switch. "This is my special disobedience button, you disobey and I do this."

He lowered his thumb to the slider and slowly slid it forwards half a centimetre. Bryanna stared at him for a moment, then let out a strangled scream as she felt a painful shock rip through her body.

Instantly he pulled his thumb down, and the shocks stopped. Bryanna's hands flew up to the collar, gripping her neck wide eyed as she panted.

"You disobey, and this is what you will receive. You obey, and we won't use the collar. Simple."

"I won't disobey. I won't disobey you ever."

There was no response, he simply gestured for her to stand to her feet. Once she was upright he strode out of the room, Bryanna rushing to follow as the guards came up on either side. For once they let her walk without holding onto either arm. She was led back to the gym where the doctor shoved open the door before them and called for attention.

"Thank you for your patience Mr Fetrad." He said cooly, striding up to a group of four men standing on the mats waiting.

Bryanna came to a stop a couple feet behind the doctor, just to his left as she peered distrustfully at the men in front of them. Three of the strange men wore HYDRA uniforms similar to those of her guards, telling her that they weren't anyone special.

But the fourth man...he wore a leather combat gear with weapons hanging off the belt and his very posture put her on edge. He towered over two of his three guards, but instead of her eyes being drawn to his height she instead found herself staring at his arm. It was made entirely of metal, the silver chrome looking just like the same metal as her new collar.

Her eyes flicked up, meeting his cold blues and she twitched back from his dark icy gaze. Everything about that man radiated deadly.

"Of course Dr Maximov." The tallest of the uniformed men said, stepping mast metal arm and nodding to the doctor before turning to Bryanna with interest.

"This is Project Nyx?" He asked, approaching Bryanna who flinched away.

"Yes. The higher ups believe she's ready for the next phase of her training." Dr Maximov explained.

The man nodded and moved back, all the men turning their attention to metal arm man.

"Asset. This is Project Nyx, you will train her up to take on her own missions. You will deal with weapons, hand to hand combat, evasion techniques, everything necessary to work for HYDRA." The man, Mr Fetrad, ordered. His voice went from pleasant to the same dark and disdainful tone that the doctor used on her.

The metal armed man studied her for a moment, expression giving nothing away. Bryanna looked over at the doctor, unsure of what she was supposed to say if anything.

"She's a child."

The man's voice was a gravelly baritone, holding no emotion.

"She is not a child, she is a weapon. Show them what you are capable of Project Nyx." Doctor Maximov ordered.

Bryanna held up a hand, not even having to concentrate as shadows slowly formed above her palm. The agents with metal arm man let out a strangled gasp, and she even saw a slight widening of the eyes from metal armed man.

"She has magic." One agent breathed.

"Correct. Thus, the label Project Nyx." Mr Fetrad explained.

Bryanna pulled the shadows back and her arm dropped back to her side as the doctor turned to face her.

"This is The Asset. You will learn from him, and if you disobey his orders you will receive punishment. Your training will start today, if something is needed one of the guards will retrieve me and Mr Fetrad." The doctor said briskly before he and Mr Fetrad stalked out of the room.

"Wa-..."

"We will be in the back." One of her guards informed her before they walked to the enclosed glass monitoring room where they settled far out of the way of her and The Asset.

The silence between them was heavy and Bryanna kept her eyes averted from the man, studying the cavernous gym as if she had never seen it before.

"Project Nyx."

Her head snapped up and she met The Assets stare.

"Asset." She responded, proud of managing to keep her voice from shaking noticeably.

He stared at her for a long moment, then he took a step forward. Bryanna instantly scuttled back away from him, eyes wide.

He have a soft hum before moving to circle her, Bryanna circling back away from him and keeping him in her eyesight. Every muscle was tensed and coiled in preparation for an attack. He held her gaze unblinkingly before abruptly stopping and stepping back again.

"I know what your first lesson will be."

"W-what?"

"Teaching you to suppress your fear."

* * *

So what did you think? Reviews are welcome! Flames shall be laughed at, posted for others to laugh at, and ignored as I continue the story.


	17. Training Begins

Hello all!

So here is the last update for today. Were you guys expecting the addition of everyone's favourite HYDRA assassin? I'be been looking forward to these chapters since I started the HYDRA arc:D

Enjoy!

* * *

 **Training Begins**

* * *

Bryanna stared at the man.

"What?"

"Every single movement you make, every shift in the expression on your face, every waver in your voice, every glimmer in your eyes, all of it gives away what you're feeling. Everything in you radiates your fear and feeling of inferiority." He said sharply, his state challenging.

He stepped forward and Bryanna instinctively twitched away, making him sigh and step back.

"You're frightened of me."

Bryanna looked up at him wide eyed.

"Wait I-"

"That's good. We can use that." He interrupted.

She fell silent, dread building in her stomach at his statement. Was he going to hurt her? She watched as he once again began to circle, Bryanna tensing as he moved around her.

"We will use that to train you to hide your fear. You will learn how to mask your emotions around anyone."

Bryanna nodded shakily. The idea of being practically alone with the powerful and clearly dangerous man quite frankly terrified her. He could kill her before the guards ever reached them. But being able to hide her fear from the doctor who enjoyed seeing her suffering pushed her past that.

She squared her shoulders, meeting his gaze head on with determination in her eyes.

"Alright. What do I do?"

* * *

"Go."

Instantly Bryanna was off, sprinting through the obstacle course that had been set up in the gym. Her pulse raced as she sprung over a fence, her feet not even touching the planks. She ran to the next challenge, grabbing the bar and hoisting herself up as she flipped onto the next platform. Her landing was unsteady and she hissed as she realized that she had lost precious seconds.

Pushing an extra burst of speed she launched herself at the net wall, scrambling up as quickly as possible. Just when she thought she might make it to the halfway mark of the course for once she felt her foot slip in the net, sliding through and causing her to fall backwards.

"No!"

She scrabbled for a way to get free but her movement caused the net to shift, allowing her foot to slip free but also dumping her headfirst to the floor far below. The platform covered a tiny expanse of the net, and with her luck as she fell she would bypass it altogether.

She tried futility to spin midair in hopes of at least not landing on her head but before she could fall very far she felt cold metal latch on around her torso. Her fall was abruptly halted and she twisted her head to see The Asset straighten from where he had leaned down to grab her, pulling her up to him before steadying her as she grabbed back onto the net and moved over out of his space.

She clutched tightly to the net as she looked over at the stone faced assassin carefully. Kindness was not ever shown in the facility, and helping another was a thing of the past. Why had he grabbed her? The fall wouldn't have killed her, and any injury would be healed relatively quickly. Besides, it was hardly the worst she had been hurt since arriving here.

"Thank you." She finally said, her tone just above the whisper.

He merely inclined his head to her before looking down at the platform below.

"I caught you, that means you failed. We will return to the beginning and you will restart however many times as necessary until you can make it through this course without making a mistake and being caught."

* * *

Bryanna stood stock still, eyes straight and face expressionless as she felt The Asset circle around behind her. His presence got closer and Bryanna did nothing, her muscles only barely tensed as she felt him come up directly behind her.

"Good." He commented before backing away and moving around in front of her.

They had been at this for longer then she had thought would be necessary.

"You're doing well. However you seem to have "

"I assume that progress is being achieved."

The sound of the doctors voice sounded behind her and Bryanna spun to face him. She noticed the flash of surprise in his eyes when she did not flinch or really react, before that glint became triumphant again.

"You have five minutes to wrap whatever you're working on right now. Then we need Project Nyx for our routine medical check."

Without so much as waiting for acknowledgement the doctor strode out of the gym, leaving Bryanna and The Asset just standing there.

"The next lessons we'll work on keeping your shadows from giving away your emotion."

Bryanna blinked.

"What?"

"You kept from giving away your fears just as we trained. The only hints being ones that the doctor did not see. But when he spoke your shadows jumped into existence, which gave away your fear to the doctor."

She looked down, realizing that she really did have small shadow wisps that clung to her clothes.

"Oh."

"We will start training that out of you tomorrow. Training for today is over." The Asset dismissed.

Bryanna nodded before turning and hurrying over to her guards. Keeping Doctor Maximov waiting was not wise.

* * *

Bryanna winced and gave a soft grunt at the tearing sensation on her arms but instead of stopping she gritted her teeth and tightened the grip on the bar over head. With a three count she swung to the one further along the wall.

Warmth trickled down her arm and she forced herself to push the pain and sensation to the back of her mind.

"I'm not weak. I might have given in but I'm not weak!" She hissed to herself, blinking back the tears that threatened to well in her eyes.

She would not quit just because of a little pain.

Crimson drops fell from her arms to the mat below and Bryanna closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before straining her arms as she swung sideways to the next bar.

"One, Two. One, two. One, two."

Steady breathing. Concentrating and not faltering once as she navigated this part of the course.

"PROJECT NYX!"

Bryanna sucked in a startled gasp, her grip loosening and causing her to fall to the mat below. She sucked in a breath, managing to land on her feet as she looked u at The Asset.

"What-"

He ignored her, grabbing her hand and yanking her arms out, flipping them over to reveal her forearm and palm.

"What is this?" He asked, his voice soft but dark.

Bryanna's eyes widened and she moved to pull back but his grip on her hand only tightened. Her eyes flitted up to his cold blue ones before falling down to her arms that were covered with a thin layer of blood, the cuts that lined her arms bleeding sluggishly.

"I- Uh-"

He released his grip on her hands and stepped back, pointing towards the room just off the gym where the first aid kits and proper gear for some of the larger equipment were located.

"Get in there now."

Bryanna practically ran to the first aid room, panic fluttering in her chest. He was a hard teacher, but she had never seen him look angry like this. He followed her in, pointing to the low counter without a word before striding up to the cupboard with the first aid kits.

She sat silently as he retrieved a kit and brought it over to her, setting it down next to her and opening it up to pull something out.

"D-did I do something wrong?" She stammered.

He glanced up at he face before taking one of her arms and pulling it out, wiping it briskly with an antiseptic wipe. She hissed and twitched in his grasp but The Asset ignored her, finishing off cleaning up her arm before doing the same to her other one.

"Asset-"

"What were you thinking? You don't exercise when you're bleeding. You take proper care of the wounds, you were just asking for an accident doing what you were doing." He cut her off, his voice tense as he started wrapping her arms.

Bryanna expected his movements to be rough to match his tone, but he was as careful and methodical while he wrapped her arms as he was when he trained her.

"I-I thought that we were supposed to work through pain. To not do so is weakness, and when I work for HYDRA I cannot show weakness."

The Asset snorted.

"There is a difference between weakness and stupidity. You crossed the line into stupidity by doing this."

Bryanna slumped, silent as he finished wrapping her arms. Once he was finished he secured the fabric and released her arms so he could pack up the kit. She remained sitting next to him watching him work as she pondered her words.

"Do your handlers allow sharp objects alone in the room with you?"

"Huh?" She said, confused by the question.

He gestured to her arms.

"How do you hide what your doing from them?" He clarified.

"I don't do this. The cuts are from the medical tests, they've been testing to see how quickly I can heal cause of the blood, they were testing how many cuts they could add without slowing down my bodies newly enhanced healing process." She explained quietly, keeping her eyes fixed on the floor.

Silence.

She chanced a look up at The Asset to see that he had stopped working and was staring at her arms with narrowed eyes. He paused for a moment before reaching over and pulling up the baggy sleeves on her workout shirt that hung to her elbows to reveal healing scars along her upper arm.

Bryanna said nothing, looking down at her arms ashamedly before turning away. Those scars were nothing more then marks that taunted her weakness and inability to protect herself.

"Next time this happens we wrap your arms before training. You don't get on that equipment until then."

"Yes Asset."

* * *

The Asset was setting up some equipment for training with Project Nyx when he heard someone running towards the workout room. He looked up just in time to see the brown haired girl throw the door open.

The moment she stepped into the gym facility he knew something was wrong. Her face was pale, even her lips lacked colour. Instantly he straightened, looking over at his student warily. Her whole body was trembling and as he heard the sounds of the guards approaching her head whipped to the side and she sprinted across the room, hurriedly navigating the course and scrambling up to a high up tunnel cave that was situated just past the halfway point of the course.

"Project Nyx." He called, waiting for her to turn and respond as she always did.

But she ignored him, her movements sloppy and rushed as she scrambled up the various climbing portions of the wall to the cave.

The Asset glanced back at the guards who entered the room and went straight to the observation room to talk, then started for the climbing wall. He scaled up the the artificial tunnel/cave easily, hoisting himself into the tunnel and peering around.

He easily adjusted to the dim lighting and he instantly located movement, craning his neck back to see wisps of shadows floating around the large ledge that was near the top of the cave. He watched for a few moments and when she said nothing nor did she move he sighed, walking over to the wall and climbing it easily.

He reached the ledge, bracing his arms on it and lifting himself up to see that Project Nyx had tucked herself in the far corner curled up into a little ball.

"Project Nyx."

"...Asset." She whispered, the shaking in her whisper making his brow raise as he fully hoisted himself up and moved so that he was sitting facing her on the massive ledge.

"Explain." He ordered.

He needed to find out what was going on and snap her out of it before they were reported for not starting training on time. He would get off once they learned the situation...but she would not be so lucky. He had heard her screams before later in the evening, punishments for something she had done that they did not like.

The girl in front of him looked up at him slowly, arms wrapped around her drawn up knees tightly and her hair blocking him from seeing her eyes.

"They told me that I will be taking my first mission in the next bit. I've learned enough-... they said that I will have to kill someone. I can't kill, I can't! I-I'm nut a murderer, I'm not a weapon. I-I just can't!" Project Nyx babbled, her voice cracking.

The Asset was silent.

She was clearly distressed, and he needed to calm her soon so they could train, but he had no idea what to say. He didn't understand her distress, it was just another job to him. He knew nothing of the people, and he never saw the aftermath. It had no effect on him, and it did not disturb him.

"They don't care if I can't handle this, they don't care if I'm terrified. They just want a weapon, and if I voice my fear they'll hurt my brother."

He shot her a startled look at her words. It was the unspoken rule that they did not speak of anything outside of their work with HYDRA. They did not partake in smalltalk, and to acknowledge her words would be to cross a very dangerous line.

He could run the risk of getting attached if he allowed himself to tolerate her memories and thoughts, and that was a very dangerous risk when it came to HYDRA.

"...you have a brother?"

Project Nyx exhaled and leaned her head back, meeting his gaze with one that was significantly softer then he was used to seeing on her.

"Yeah. An older brother. He's thirteen years older then me. We were really close, he was my favourite person in my family to spend time with. He could be a real brat though sometimes, he would play pranks and stuff but I never had to worry about being bullied at school." She closed her eyes before continuing. "He's the only one of my immediate family left, I can't let him get hurt because of me."

With those words she lapsed into silence, the two of them sitting together wordlessly for a moment. The Asset watched Project Nyx out of the corner of his eye. He could see the tension and stress in her muscles and the distance in her expression. She clearly needed something, although he couldn't even fathom a guess of what.

"We need to get down and train. You don't want to be reported for lack of work." He finally stated, shifting to the edge of the ledge to jump down.

"Asset?"

He paused and looked back at the younger girl to see her give an uncomfortable swallow.

"I'm sorry."

He blinked at her and she flushed slightly before elaborating on her apology.

"You're here to train, not run after a child having a breakdown. I apologize for wasting your time like that."

The Asset watched as she scooted forward to hover over the ledge next to him, clearly planning to climb down. He debated in himself for a moment as he watched the slightly lost look on her face before hesitantly raising his flesh hand and reaching over to set it heavily on her shoulder.

She looked up at him startled and when her eyes met his he gave a short nod and an ever so slight squeeze before releasing her and turning away.

"It's fine." He answered shortly before leaping off the side of the ledge and landing easily on the ground.

"Ooh! Can I try that?"

He shot her a bemused look.

"If you want. Use the techniques for landing that I taught you."

He saw her eyes glint and she steadied herself before leaping down and landing lightly on her feet. Of course, that landing was smooth for only a couple of seconds before she stumbled forward and narrowly missed faceplanting.

"Ow."

"You good?" He questioned, resisting the strange urge to almost smile.

"Yeah. Only thing wounded is my pride."

She stood and they started out the other side of the cave towards the thin plank that spanned the gab between the cave and the next platform over. He started along the plank with Project Nyx close behind.

"You know, I kinda wish you were a girl right now."

He started to give a noncommittal noise in response before actually absorbing her words and doing a double take. He had to stop and twist around to stare at Project Nyx.

"What?!"

"I want a hug but you-"

"There is no way in hell I'm going to hug you." He stated flatly before turning back continuing across the plank.

Project Nyx snorted behind him.

"Well it's a good thing I didn't want a hug from a grumpy old geezer in the first place then isn't it?"

He blinked at her snarky response before barely refraining from rolling his eyes. When he had first started working with her, Project Nyx had been almost been like a robot with her actions, no spark or emotion in her eyes. But over the months she had slowly started to open up, although this level of sass was new.

"Shut up and focus on the course. I'd hate for you to fall and due to my "age" not be able to catch you."

* * *

So what did you think? Reviews are welcome! Flames shall be laughed at, posted for others to laugh at, and ignored as I continue the story.


	18. Testing the Limits

Hello all!

Here is the next set of three for your enjoyment:)

* * *

 **Testing the Limits**

* * *

Bryanna slammed her foot into The Asset's chest and he deftly grabbed her leg and twisted. She shifted her body with his movements, flipping over and landing several blows to him as she jerked her leg free and landed nimbly on her feet a few feet away from him.

His eyes were narrowed and she met his look with an equally unfriendly and challenging gaze of her own.

"You're hesitating." He growled, clearly irritated with her lack of progress in that particular area.

Bryanna bared her teeth as she slowly circled around him. The bottled up rage and frustration inside her that she had been shoving down deep inside since they had shattered her defiance that day seemed to bubble to the surface every time they sparred. The Asset told her that her reaction made her a stronger fighter, but it also made her slightly sloppy of she didn't learn how to control and channel it.

"I'm working on that." She hissed.

"Then work harder."

Just as the last word left his mouth he lunged forward, the two of them exchanging a flurry of hard and fast blows, flipping and dodging across the mat as they sparred. Bryanna lunged and he caught her, throwing her across the ring and causing her to skid backwards on the mats as she hit the ground.

She let out a oof as she hit before flipping to her feet and launching herself at him, using her shadows to create a solid launchpad under herself that she ran up and flipped off, landing on his back and with a few snaps had the shadows working in sync with her manoeuvre as she managed to use the man's weight against him to tumble him to the ground. He landed on his back with a grunt as Bryanna tried to pin him. The Asset easily dislodged her and Bryanna was forced for retreat and readjust her attack plan.

"Using your shadows is cheating."

"The shadows are as much a part of me as my limbs. Fighting is all about using anything at your disposal to gain the upper hand." She shot back.

"I am teaching you combat skills in case you ever find yourself in a situation where you are unable to use your shadow abilities. You will not learn how to properly defend yourself if you cheat. You need to be able to beat me without the shadows." The Asset snapped, glaring at her.

"If I don't have my shadows then I might as well be dead anyway so what does it matter. Without my shadows I'm useless to HYDRA." She said sourly, ignoring the dark glare he shot her at her words and instead meeting his look with a defiant stare.

There was a small staredown before she faked sideways and then lashed out with her fist, The Asset grabbed her wrist in a crushing grip. He spun her and forced her arm behind her back. Bryanna snarled and kicked out, just managing to nail a hard kick to the muscle along the side of his calf.

Unfortunately her blow had as little an affect on him as she thought and she found herself quite helplessly pinned against him with both her arms immobile and her feet lifted off the ground and captured with his leg. She struggled for a moment in his iron grasp before releasing a heavy sigh and slumping.

"...fine. I'll work harder at it."

"Without the shadows." He added.

"I'll work harder at training." She responded stubbornly.

His grip tightened ever so slightly in warning.

" _Without the shadows._ " He said pointedly.

"...without the shadows." She grumbled.

That seemed to satisfy and she was released as The Asset stepped back and went to get a drink of water. She glared at his retreating back sullenly.

"Old geezer." She muttered under her breath.

"Brat."

Her head shot up at his retort and with a blush she realized that his super hearing and allowed him to catch her mutter. Then with a flash of annoyance she realized what he had called her.

"Wait a second! I'm not a brat!"

* * *

Bryanna paused next to the cooler, panting from her workout. She guzzled water and glanced back to see The Asset continue running along the track. She was just about to start running again when she heard the door to the gym open and she turned towards the door only to stiffen.

It was Dr Maximov, Mr Fetrad, and six guards dressed in uniform. The Asset had seen them at the same time as her and jogged back over, standing to attention in front of them as she came up next to The Asset.

"Asset. Project Nyx. It's time for Project Nyx first mission."

The moment those words left the doctor's lips Bryanna let out a strangled sound, stepping backwards.

"M-mission?! To kill?!"

The doctor narrowed his eyes dangerously and his hand slipped into his pocket as he advanced towards her.

"Are we really going to go down this road again? You are a weapon, you do not have the right to disobey or fight. And if you are really so stupid as to think you have this right. Have you forgotten what you have on the line? Have you forgotten what your disobedience can mean for your loved ones? For Tony?"

"Y-you don't understand! I can't kill!" Bryanna cried, her hands coming up in front of her.

The doctor's lips lifted into a snarl.

"I am so tired of you. Stupid little child that doesn't understand the bigger picture of what we are doing with this. Every time you fight us you take time away from our goal in life. One day very soon you are going to dearly regret resisting us if you do not learn how to hold your tongue!" He spat, jerking his hand out of his pocket to reveal a thin remote in hand.

"No! Wai-"

He pushed the slider up with narrowed eyes and Bryanna let out a strangled cry as the shock ripped through her body, causing her to fall forward onto her knees. She jerked with the force of the next shock, screaming out as tears started to fall down her cheeks.

"Stop."

Just like that, the shocks ended and Bryanna was left gasping and staring blankly at the ground. It took her a moment to process that someone had spoken and she looked up slowly to see everyone glaring at The Asset who stood a few feet away.

"Give me the rest of the day to work with her, and once we are done she will make the kill." He stated.

The doctor's eyes narrowed and he glanced back down at the remote, thumb still hovering above the button switch.

"Why did you stop the punishment just to give a pointless offer? You will train with her for the day whether I punish her or not." The Doctor asked, suspicion in his voice.

"If you use that on her the shocks will have a lasting effect on her and I will be unable to train her into the mental state she needs to be in to make her mission." The Asset stated blankly, body language giving away nothing.

Bryanna watched the doctor as he stared The Asset for a moment longer before sliding the remote back into his pocket.

"Fine. I'll give you three hours to work with her on preparing her for the mission alone. Once she has finished her mission you will both be escorted to your private rooms. But if she is not ready by the time those three hours are up..."

Bryanna remained on the ground as the doctor stalked out, the guards and Mr Fetrad following. She stared after them not quite believing that they were actually leaving her to The Asset, not believing that Doctor Maximov was really willing to hold off on her punishment.

"You heard them, let's go." The Asset said abruptly, grabbing her arm and pulling Bryanna to her feet.

"W-what can you possibly do to make me want to do this?!"

He ignored her, instead walking into the storage room and emerging moments later with a target dummy.

"What are you-"

"Go stretch." He ordered, dismissing her without even bothering to listen to her question.

Bryanna obeyed, clamping down on the fear and pain in her chest that made breathing evenly and keeping calm feel nearly impossible. She stretched for nearly ten minutes as he set up dummy after dummy, probably emptying the entire storage room.

"Come here."

Bryanna made her way over to The Asset, stopping next to the tall man as he studied the mass of dummies he had set out all over the gym.

"What next?"

He looked down at her.

"Today, you use your shadows. Aim at the dummies, try and hit the kill points. Don't destroy the dummy, just leave a mark." He ordered.

Bryanna hesitated before raising her hand, watching a thin sphere of shadows form above her palm. She took a deep breath and raised her arm, preparing herself and taking aim.

"Strike."

She did. The shadows hurtled across the room and slammed into the dummy just above the kill mark.

"You missed. Do it again."

At his order she raised her hand and summoned another ball of shadows.

"Strike."

* * *

"Strike."

Instantly there were several rapid fire thumps as she fired shadow at the kill points on the dummies upper half. The moment all the shadow balls made contact she moved to the right to the next dummy and summoned shadows.

"Strike."

That word had become a mantra for her. She was able to space out, to detach herself and just strike.

"Stop."

Bryanna halted her actions and turned to The Asset.

"Yes?"

"There is another thing we must work on before your mission." He told her before starting across the gym to where several chairs were sitting. "Come here."

She followed him, puzzled as he grabbed two of the chairs and set them up facing each other. Taking a seat in one he gestured to the other, watching unblinkingly as she took a seat across from him.

"What are we doing?"

"With your power, where are your limits?"

Bryanna stared at him.

"You don't train my power."

There was a flash of irritation across his face.

"I never asked you what I trained you in, I asked you what limits you have found." He said coldly.

Bryanna straightened, that tone meant business and while he had never hurt her for not showing the level of obedience to him she showed to the doctor, she knew well enough not to defy her Teacher.

"None. In the limited amount of exploration of my power I have been allowed there have been no limits." She reported.

"Hm... let's test something right now then. See that elliptical over by the cardio equipment?" He pointed to the elliptical and she nodded. "I want you to use your shadows to feel inside. Discover the mechanism that works that equipment, but do so without altering the outside or harming any of the parts."

Bryanna's brows furrowed and without moving she formed thin wisps and guided them through the air to the elliptical. She closed her eyes, feeling the shadows settle over the machine, and with a deep breath she thinned out the shadows till it was thinner then a single sheet of paper, and then she imagined them bleeding through the protective outer casing. Stiffening in shock and excitement she gave a little smile as she felt it work.

"I'm in!"

Carefully and slowly she began to will she shadows to move. They were like an extension of herself and every brush against the mechanism inside felt like it was forming a map in her mind.

"This feels so strange..." she murmured, brushing her shadows along until she found the piece that when it moved, would power the equipment. Hesitantly, carefully, she allowed her shadow to envelop the piece and with delicacy, began to slowly move the piece. A whirring noise could be heard, and then Bryanna heard the elliptical begin to work.

"It worked!" She gasped, releasing the piece and opening her eyes to see it slowly stop and settle without anything to work it.

She flipped her head back to look at The Asset who gave a nod to her.

"Good. Now I want you to try something slightly different." He said, shifting in his seat. "I want you to do the exact same thing you just did with the elliptical where you explored it's inner workings, but this time you do it to me."

At his words Bryanna's jaw dropped.

"Use it on you?! But I could hurt you! Or permanently screw you up! Or worse!"

"Shut up and think. You are going to be a killer, and in order to make it as an assassin and not risk failing just to become an experimental patient, then you must bring something that the disposables don't. As assassins our job is to get in, kill our target, and get out without ever leaving a trace or making the killing obvious as an assassination. I do that through physical means, but with your power if you can work inside the body you'll never have to leave a mark. All you have to do is shut down their system from inside." He explained, his tone short.

"You need to know what you're looking for, thus you will find that on me. Do not adjust or touch any of my bodies systems and you won't do any harm."

The blood drained out of her face and she began to violently shake her head, standing and turning to leave. Before she could even move a step, The Asset grabbed her arm and jerked her in front of him, pulling her chair closer with his foot and forcibly shoving her back down into it.

"You do not have a choice, and you will not move from that seat until you do as I say. I'm trying to prevent you from having to murder someone with your hands! No weapons, no gruesome mess that will haunt you even after you leave, just a simple kill. Do you want to murder someone with your own hands?! Is that what you would prefer?! Or how about facing punishment, would you prefer that?" He snarled, glaring down at Bryanna.

She stared up at him, frightened by the intensity in his face.

"...but I could hurt you." She finally mumbled.

His eyes narrowed at her words and a few moments passed of him studying her. Then The Asset sighed, releasing his grip on her and sitting back.

"You won't." Was his simple reply.

Bryanna swallowed, mouth suddenly feeling drier then the desert. She gave a jerky nod before summoning the shadows and watching the thinner then paper layer move through the air towards The Asset. She never closed her eyes this time, focusing intently instead on her shadows and on her Teacher. She watched his breathing pick up the closer the shadows got and as they settled over him she glanced up to meet his gaze.

"Ready?" She asked.

"Just do it Project Nyx." He growled.

She did, moving the shadows below the surface. He tensed and gave a sharp breath, the sensation more then likely startling and unnerving. Forcing the shadows as thin as they could possibly go she began to move them, the stress of what she was doing making her hands shake in her lap.

But she kept her mental control steady, moving as slowly and as smoothly as possible. As she moved she was able to pick out and recognize what she was passing, she didn't know how but the shadows were almost transferring what they felt through back to her. She was able to map out his digestive system, his muscles, his neurological system and every path they followed. It was as if he had been completely opened up to her sight.

His breathing was irregular and when she would stop to focus on him she could see a multitude of expressions flitting across his face, moving so fast that she couldn't even pick out one.

Eventually she felt herself come up to his upper chest and she hesitated, forcing herself to focus her eyes now so she could look at The Asset.

"Do I continue?"

She saw the muscles in the fist that he had formed with his flesh hand jump.

"Yes."

"But I'm-"

"I said yes!"

She flinched at his raised voice before slowing her breathing and allowing her eyes to go unfocused as she slowly continued her way up. She passed his lungs and her movements slowed to a crawl as her shadows brushed against the part of him she feared damaging the most.

His heart.

Bryanna swallowed hard as she allowed her shadows to surround his heart. It took several seconds of gathering the courage before she allowed some to slip through inside and map out the inside of a heart for her. Each strong pump radiated through the shadows and when it reached her she gasped.

She could feel his heart beating.

She mapped out anything, not allowing her shadows to solidify even a tiny bit as she pulled out of his heart and just rested for a moment along the outside.

"Stop, stop now!"

At The Asset's sudden growl Bryanna's eyes snapped open to see him staring at her with wild eyes.

"Get it out!"

Instantly she pulled back, removing the shadows as quickly as she could. The moment they were out she dissipated them and shoved herself to her feet, approaching her Teacher with wide and worried eyes.

"Did I hurt you?! Was it your heart? I knew this was a bad idea!" She cried, moving to his side and reaching forward with two fingers to take his pulse. The moment her fingers touched her neck his metal hand shot up and he grabbed onto her wrist with an iron grip.

Bryanna squeaked, trying to pull away only for his grip to tighten further. As soon as she realized that there was no way out she forced herself to completely relax her hand and arm.

"Asset? Please let go, my hand is going numb." She said softly, watching as her teacher stared straight ahead and his fast and irregular breathing began to even out. He didn't acknowledge her words, and didn't even seem to really be paying attention to her presence next to him.

"Asset? It's starting to hurt."

Seconds passed, then he slowly turned his head to look at her. She gestured to her wrist and she saw a flash of realization in his eyes before he released her. Instantly she moved back, sitting down in her chair and shaking the wrist he had grabbed with a grimace.

"Ouch. Now it's asleep." She muttered to herself, frowning at the uncomfortable sensation in her arms.

"Let me see."

She glanced up at the Asset and he reached out, pulling her arm closer with his metal hand and then carefully massaging her wrist with his flesh hand. She quickly regained feeling and he released her arm before sitting back.

"Did I hurt you?" Bryanna finally asked. "With my shadows I mean?"

"No."

"Then why did you-"

"Do not ever do that again, understand? Not to me, not to anyone. Not unless they are your mission target." He ordered.

Bryanna blinked, taken aback by his sharp words.

"I- okay. What happened?"

The Asset looked away.

"Nothing."

She stared at him a moment longer and was about to push the question when the door to the gym reopened. She looked up and instantly stiffened upon seeing the doctor in the doorway.

"Project Nyx, Asset. Time is up, come with us."

* * *

So what did you think? Reviews are welcome! Flames shall be laughed at, posted for others to laugh at, and ignored as I continue the story.


	19. Killer

Hello again!

Now presenting the second of three updates:)

Enjoy!

* * *

 **Killer**

* * *

Bryanna could barely hold back the shakes as she followed the doctor down the hall. She was almost hyperventilating and her pulse raced as she walked next to the Asset towards an area of the compound she had never been. The prison area.

"Mr Fetrad, the cameras are ready to transmit the video of this to the boss?" Doctor Maximov asked.

"Yes. He is looking forward to seeing the results." The Asset's handler assured the doctor.

Bryanna bit the inside of her cheek, the sudden coppery taste in her mouth grounding her. Her slippers made almost no noise on the ground, and her completely white workout clothes drew every eye in the halls to her.

They rounded the corner only to slow in front of a door. Bryanna looked up at The Asset who gave her a look out of the corner of his eye and nodded ever so slightly. Taking a deep breath Bryanna squared her shoulder, watching as Doctor Maximov keyed in the code and the door unlocked. Everyone filed in and much to her surprise Bryanna found herself standing in a room with glass windows looking out. On the other side of the window was a room where a female sat with her head down, obscuring view of her face.

"This woman crossed us for her own personal gain in her most recent mission. Stole from HYDRA and thought that she would get away with it." Mr Fetrad said, disgust in his face.

Bryanna relaxed slightly. She may still have to kill, but at least the woman wasn't innocent. She was a dispicable criminal.

"Project Nyx, a guard will escort you into the cell and you will be accompanied by The Asset who will assess how you did. You will kill the prisoner and if you do it without problem the first time, you will receive extra rations tonight." The doctor informed her.

"Yes sir." Bryanna responded before turning and following the guard out a door she hadn't noticed before.

As they entered the holding cell Bryanna noted that the woman was handcuffed although she did not look up.

"End your mission." The order sounded through a speaker into the room.

At hearing the voice of Doctor Maximov, the woman finally looked up and Bryanna twitched as she realized who was sitting in front of her.

"You're the social worker!" Bryanna said.

The woman snorted, disgust in her features.

"Yes I am. Does that bother you?"

Bryanna raised a hand slowly to point at her, jaw clenching in anger.

"You-"

"I go by Jezebel, Project Nyx. At least refer to your elders by name if you can't be any more polite." The woman sneered, cutting her off.

Bryanna's eyes narrowed and her nostrils flared as she took a jerky step forward.

"You. You are the one that took me away from Tony." Bryanna hissed, all detachment from her mission gone as she slowly approached the woman.

The woman laughed and Bryanna's face screwed up with hatred as she lunged forward, coiling her leg back and lashing out with a powerful kick that sent her flying backwards into the wall. Jezebel hit with a crack before sliding down and landing hard on the ground. There was wheezing as the woman tried to regain her breath and Bryanna's fists clenched and unclenched.

Gone was her reservations about hurting this woman, now all the hatered inside for HYDRA and what they had done to her were bubbling to the surface.

"You destroyed everything!" Bryanna shouted, advancing towards the woman with a wild glint in her eye. "I lost everything I had left when you walked through those doors, you deserve to burn in hell!"

Jezebel stared up at Bryanna, smirking at her reaction. Bryanna felt shadows begin to coil around her limbs in reaction to her out of control emotion.

"You won't kill me, I know what you've been like since you arrived and you're to afraid to kill." Jezebel sneered.

Bryanna stopped, her hands clenched into fists at her side. Her chest heaved with each breath she took and after a second she spoke.

"No, no, oh no. Y-you're wrong now. I serve HYDRA, and if they say kill, I will kill. Goodbye Jezebel."

The cruel amusement in the woman's eyes vanished and realization dawned on her too late as Bryanna raised her hands, the shadows obeying her will and shooting out to wrap around the woman's neck. Jezebel let out a shout but Bryanna ignored her, the muscles in her hand twitching as she slowly began to tighten her grip on the air in front of her.

Mirroring her movement, the shadows began to squeeze Jezebel's neck, the woman gasping when her airways began to close. Bryanna's face was twisted with hate and anger, her hesitation to kill long forgotten as she focused on Jezebel.

"S-stop..." Jezebel wheezed, her face turning red.

Bryanna ignored the plea and she forcibly tightened her hand more, hands wavering as with a choking noise the light began to die from Jezebel's eyes.

After what felt like years her eyes went dull and lifeless and the body sagged in the grip of the shadows, and with a shuddering sigh Bryanna released her hold, the shadows dissipating and the body falling to the floor.

The woman who started this hell for her was dead.

And Bryanna had been the one to kill her.

* * *

The sound of heavy breathing echoed in the back of the gym as Bryanna leapt up and flipped from one platform high up in the air to the other. She landed easily and took off again without faltering and with one fluid movement grabbed onto the pole, sliding down and landing on the platform below.

Above her she saw The Asset following and once again Bryanna was off, moving through the course with a new ease. Her steps were silent as she ran and her eyes were focused on the finish line with a startling intensity.

"I will finish this today." She whispered to herself.

Behind her she could sense The Asset approaching, getting closer and closer. The final hurdle was the staircase, and with a quick glance over her shoulder Bryanna realized that she wasn't going to make it to the finish line at the bottom of the staircase at this rate.

Not unless she did something to give herself the edge.

Her eyes flitted over the staircase with every step closer and after a quick evaluation she adjusted her path ever so slightly. Putting on an extra burst of speed last minute she threw out her hand and created a flat board made of shadows. She forced it to move ahead of her and just as she reached the staircase she slammed the shadow board down on the railing and landed on top, sliding down precariously as The Asset raced down the stairs on foot.

A three foot gap between them. A two foot gap between them.

Bryanna leapt into the air, the force of her downwards slide launching her into the air and out of reach and she flew forward only to land on the mats below. Rolling with impact she gave one final lunge forward, her fingers just brushing the tape that marked the finish line just as arms snatched her out of the air and she found herself trapped in The Asset's grip.

But this time instead of groaning and trying to wriggle free Bryanna began to laugh.

"Too late! I touched the tape! I passed the course!"

At her words The Asset set her down on the ground, stepping back and allowing her to spin and face him. A grin sat on her face, and a hint of sparkle could be seen in her eyes.

"I did it!"

The Asset nodded, reaching out his flesh hand to set it on the top of her head for a mere moment in congratulations before pulling back and giving a short nod.

"Very well done. You've fully passed the course for the first time."

Bryanna grinned before turning and jogging over to the water cooler. She had finally done it. She had finally beat The Asset on the course.

...with a little help from her shadows.

* * *

Lunch break had finally rolled around and the guards had delivered the food before leaving again. Only two guards remained to monitor them now during their sessions, and those guards had started bringing cards to amuse themselves which left Bryanna and The Asset alone to their own devices more or less during lunch.

They retreated to the storage room where the sink and a table was, Bryanna hopping up on the counter and swinging her legs as she ate. The Asset sat at the table, eating a massive lunch that had been delivered.

"Hey Asset?"

He glanced up at her with his mouth full, raising a brow to indicate that he was listening.

"Am I your first student? To train to fight I mean?"

He chewed and swallowed before answering.

"No."

Bryanna looked up in interest as he went back to his food without elaborating.

"Really? What were they like? Someone my age?"

He shook his head.

"No. They were assassins that had recently been made stronger by a powerful serum. I worked with them, sparring and combat, and if they could defeat me then they would be cleared to go on missions."

"Did they beat you? What happened to them?" She asked.

"One beat me. But they went out of control, guards died and they were locked up." He answered shortly before returning to his lunch.

Bryanna nodded and leaned her head back against the cupboard above her.

"Huh. Is it weird training me after already having worked with trained assassins?"

The Asset glanced up at her and sighed, chewing and swallowing his food before fixing her with an unimpressed look.

"Why are you asking all these questions?"

"I'm curious. You don't do a lot of talking outside of training."

"I see. To answer your question, yes it's strange training you. You're thirteen, still just a kid. And I'm teaching you to kill. I have to be more careful when working with you, or I could badly hurt and even kill you because of my strength." He informed her.

"True. But you haven't actually hurt me badly, so that's good."

The Asset snorted and went back to his food, leaving Bryanna to ponder his words and look around the room.

"You eat a lot of food. I just noticed how big your lunch is, and your lunches are always massive. Do you have a black hole for a stomach or something?"

"Project Nyx."

"Yeah?"

"Shut up and eat your sandwich."

* * *

"Today you learn how to shoot a gun."

Bryanna gaped at the metal weapon in The Asset's hand. She had seen guns before, but never this close up and certainly never one she was going to be expected to use!

"A GUN?!"

"Yes." He turned towards the dummies and several targets and strode across the mats towards them.

Bryanna hurried after him, gaping at the dummies she was expected to blow up before looking up at him wide eyed. He snorted at her expression before turning to face the targets and shifting into a stance.

"This is how you want to stand while you're first learning to use a gun. It will allow you more accurate aim, better control over the gun, and it keeps you more steady on your feet."

He cocked the gun and pulled the trigger, the bang sounding although quieter then she had anticipated.

"Is there a quieter thingy on there?"

His lips twitched.

"You mean a silencer?"

"Yeah! That thing."

"Yes, this is a gun with a silencer." He answered, a hint of amusement in his voice.

He beckoned her over and she came up next to him hesitantly.

"Take the gun."

She held out a hand edgily and watched as The Asset placed the cold metal gun into it.

"Hold it the way I demonstrated."

She lifted the gun with her other hand and slid her right hand around the grip, finger resting lightly on the trigger. She attempted to mimic the stance she had seen her Teacher take, but even she could see the issues.

"Decent try." The Asset commented offhandedly before reaching out and placing his metal hand on her shoulder, pushing it down until it was sitting naturally. He then reached out with his flesh hand and readjusted her arm before moving to her grip on the gun and shifting it so that the metal weapon fit better. A few taps on her leg with his toe to move her in the direction she needed to go and he gave a nod.

"Good. Now, I want you to aim the gun."

He walked her through a few tricks and adjusted her arm again before ordering her to fire the gun.

She did as she was told only to let out a squawk as the kickback knocked her off balance. A metal arm caught her back and pushed her upright as The Asset stepped out of the way and looked to see that the bullet had only hit the edge of the target.

"Holy crap!" Bryanna gasped, staring down at the gun.

He sighed, and Bryanna glanced up at him to see him turn away from the target to face her.

"I suppose it's not bad for a first try. You managed to hit the target at least. Now, try again."

* * *

So what did you think? Reviews are welcome! Flames shall be laughed at, posted for others to laugh at, and ignored as I continue the story.


	20. The Mission

Here be the last chapter of this update!

So I do have to give a trigger warning once again, there will be another killing in this chapter and it will be more graphic then with Jezebel. There will also be other elements within this story from the aftermath of the killing that could potentially be disturbing.

...I can't wait to reach the chapters and next stories where trigger warnings are unessesary.

Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

 **The Mission**

* * *

Bryanna stood in her small room staring down at the clothes that lay on top of her wall mounted cot. Black pants and a dark walnut brown leather coat with several leather straps that crisscrosses her torso and chest. Some sort of hard black vest thing sat next to the clothes, although she had no idea what it was supposed to be. Standing next to the bed were matching brown combat style boots.

"These are for me?" She questioned, confusion evident in her tone.

"For your missions. You can't leave the facility dressed as you are, you need durable clothing that can protect you while simultaneously blending in. Get dressed and once you are ready the Asset will meet you here and the two of you will be escorted to the briefing room." Doctor Maximov said.

"Yes sir."

At her response the doctor left, the door clanging shut behind her and leaving her to look down at her new outfit silently. Finally she removed the hospital gown that she was forced to wear whenever she wasn't dressed in her training clothes and slowly began to pull on her new uniform.

The pants and boots were easy, as was the sports bra and thin cotton shirt. The jacket and vest thingy were not so much. She tried to figure out how to get it on but finally gave up and just took a seat on her bed. Finally she heard the sound of the door lock disengaging and the door opened, allowing The Asset to walk in. He glanced her over and his eyes narrowed slightly.

"You aren't ready to go."

Bryanna nodded, gesturing over at the vest and coat with a sigh.

"I don't know what to do with this stuff."

He glanced at the articles of clothing on the bed before approaching and grabbing the vest.

"This is the bulletproof vest. It's simple to put on, just undo the zipper on the side and put it on."

She took it from him and did as she was guided, doing up the vest and lifting up the jacket with a hopeless look.

"Give it here."

She handed the coat to The Asset who made quick work of the straps and buckles, helping her pull it on over her head and then fastening the buckles efficiently. She stood there motionless as he moved around her attaching the buckles.

"I'll teach you how to do these yourself before next mission." He said shortly as he did up the buckle over her collarbone tightly and stepped back.

"Asset. Project Nyx, are you ready to go?"

Both nodded and their guards moved out of the way of the door for them to come out. The Asset led the way and Bryanna followed, feeling strangely calm and detached as she walked down the hall next to the dangerous assassin.

They were taken to another room where Doctor Maximov stood with Mr Fetrad. As they stood facing the men Bryanna took note of a piece of paper in Mr Fetrad's hands. He glanced down at the paper before looking up at The Asset and stepping forward.

"Asset, are you ready for your next mission?"

There was a curt nod and Mr Fetrad turned to his paper.

"Zhelaniye."

The Asset gave a slight jerk and she saw his whole body tense. Bryanna stared at the man in front of her that read off the strange word in confusion. What was he doing that startled The Asset so much?

"I am capable of completing missions without-"

"Rzhavyy."

Doctor Maximov gave a grim smile.

"I'm afraid that we aren't comfortable just trusting your loyalty to our people when such a precious weapon like Project Nyx is in your care. We'd hate for you and Project Nyx to vanish off the face of the earth after this mission."

Bryanna's eyes widened and her head snapped sideways to see The Asset grimace.

"Semnadtsat' Rassvet." Mr Fetrad continued.

"I will not-" The Asset started to protest.

"Pech' Devyat.'"

"What's going on?" Bryanna asked her voice startled and uneasy.

"dobroserdechnyy."

Doctor Maximov smirked at her unease and confusion.

"He's being prepped for your mission." Was his simple answer.

"Vozvrashcheniye na rodinu. Odin."

The Asset took a step forward and opened his mouth to speak but before he could, Mr Fetrad made one last statement.

"gruzovoy vagon."

Bryanna watched wide eyed as The Asset abruptly froze, muscles stiffening as he straightened and stood to attention.

"Pripoy?"

His head raised and he met Mr Fetrad's look with a dead gaze. Bryanna gave a strangled gasp and scuttled sideways, his expression was so cold and soulless.

"Gotov vypolnit'."

Bryanna's stomach bottomed out at the sound of his dark threatening voice. Slowly she began to back away, every nerve ending on her body screaming at her to get away from the threat standing next to her.

"What is he saying?" She whispered.

"He's simply stating that he is ready to comply to our orders." Doctor Maximov said, sounding pleased.

"You will go out to the house of inventor Jordan Blakbrant, eliminate him and anyone who gets in your way. He has double crossed us and stolen important research from us. You will take the research binder in his upstairs study, the binder will be labeled nanobinding research." Then Mr Fetrad gestured to Bryanna. "You will shadow Project Nyx as she completes this mission, you will take care of her and protect her if her life is in danger. Your mission is over once you safely return with Project Nyx. The house security system is through HYDRA and we have already disabled the system and cameras."

The Asset turned to face her and Bryanna belatedly remembered the training she had undergone on controlling her fear. Instantly she stiffened, her eyes narrowing as her posture became ramrod straight. He gave a clipped nod before turning back to Mr Fetrad who guided him out of the way to do a last minute equipment check. While The Asset's equipment was looked over Doctor Maximov stepped forward with a camera.

"The higher ups want updated information for your file. Stand still so that I can take this shot and send you on your mission."

Bryanna didn't move from her position, simply stared into the camera. Her face was tight and she could feel the anger behind her eyes as she thought about what had just taken place. They had him under some sort of control, it was like The Asset she had been trained by was buried beneath the soulless killer in front of her.

"That's good enough. Asset! You will take your motorcycle that is waiting outside and accompany Project Nyx to the mission. Do not do the eliminating yourself, leave that to Project Nyx. You will retrieve the files."

"Yes sir." Bryanna and The Asset said in sync, leaving Bryanna to follow The Asset as he strode from the room, following the guard who took them to the compound entrance. They climbed a large staircase located behind a set of massive steel doors and much to Bryanna's shock as they reached the room beyond the staircase she found herself in a small cabin.

They were led to the door and guided outside where Bryanna felt a rare smile flicker to life as she took a gulp of fresh air. She hadn't been outside since arriving at HYDRA and as the bitingly cold night air met her skin she felt like a weight had been lifted off her. She was willing to do any mission if that meant she could escape that prison.

Once she had somewhat got over the giddy feeling that came from being free of the compound she looked around and realized that a few feet away sat a sleek black motorcycle to which the guard handed The Asset the keys for.

"Return the keys once the mission has been completed." The guard said.

The Asset shot him a dismissive look before climbing on and starting it, then turning to face Bryanna who approached carefully. Five years ago if she had been told she was going to ride on the back of a motorcycle she was pretty sure she would have had a heart attack. But now, it just felt like one small step from everything she had already been doing.

"How do I mount behind you?" Bryanna asked, eyeing the small seat behind The Asset.

"Grab onto my shoulders and swing on."

She did as she was ordered, grabbing onto the metal appendage and swinging on behind him.

"Hold on." He growled before revving the engine.

Bryanna's eyes widened and she latched on around his torso just in time for him the crank the throttle and send the bike shooting down the gravel driveway. The gasp was ripped right from her lungs it felt like as the scenery on either side blurred.

"Oh my god." She breathed, closing her eyes tightly as the wind whistled past her ears.

She took back her original thought, this was not the next step! This was insane! She felt a sharp jerk on the bike and chanced a look up only for her eyes to nearly triple in side as she realized they were about to go over what looked like a cliff.

"What are you DOING?!"

The Asset ignored her and Bryanna buried her face in the back of his coat, holding as tightly as possible as they went airborne. Letting out a pathetic sounding squeak at the momentary feeling of weightlessness Bryanna mouthed a soundless prayer that she would survive this trip without being turned into a Bryanna shaped grease spot.

Then she felt the motorcycle land hard on the ground and continue along, the road beneath now solid and smooth.

"You can loosen your grip now."

The Assets words rumbled through her due to her being plastered to his back and she hesitantly looked up to see that they were speeding down a empty back road. After a moment Bryanna peeled herself off his back and loosened her grip, looking around at the countryside that screamed past.

As her body got used to the movement of the powerful bike Bryanna felt herself beginning to relax ever so slightly into the movement. Shifting to a more comfortable position she settled in for the ride.

* * *

The motorcycle stopped in front of a large house just off the country road. He pulled them into the hiding of several low trees before cutting the engine.

"Get off."

Bryanna steadied herself before swinging off and moving back out of The Asset's way. He easily dismounted the bike before turning to starting to move through the darkness towards the house. She instinctively followed, both of their footfalls soundless. They reached the house quickly but before they could go any further The Asset held up a hand to halt her. She looked over and saw him reach into his pocket to withdraw a pair of black gloves that he tossed to her.

"Put these on. We don't want to leave finger prints."

She obeyed and they started off along the side of the house. As they moved along the side Bryanna chanced a look up only to see an partly open window. It looked like some sort of hall window from the smaller design and location on the house as compared to windows that were quite evidently belonging to bedrooms.

"Asset! Up!"

He stopped and looked where she pointed before giving a nod. Bryanna ran over to where he stood under the window and reached out to grab the drainpipe that for some strange reason was located halfway down the house.

"Easy get away plan for them?" She muttered to herself.

The Asset reached out and gave an experimental shake to the pipe. Nothing moved or creaked.

"Most likely."

"Well that's useful."

The Asset grabbed onto the pipe as high as he could reach and hoisted himself up, Bryanna flattening herself against the house out of the light as she watched him effortlessly scale up to the second floor window. He easily opened the window fully before slipping inside and beckoning for her to follow.

Scurrying up the drain pipe noiselessly she reached the window and lithely hopped over the ledge into the hall. She scanned the room, her eyes peering easily in the dark. There were several rooms along the hall, and Bryanna glanced up at The Asset who pointed to the door at the end of the hall.

"Biggest windows over there. That's the master." He whispered, leaning down to keep his voice from travelling.

She nodded and he then pointed to the door closest to them.

"Office."

They hurried over to the door and The Asset moved to open it only to find it locked. His eyes narrowed slightly and he reached into one of the pockets on his coat only for Bryanna to shake her head and form a tendril of shadows in her hand.

He paused and she focused intently on her shadows, guiding them into the lock and wriggling them around. After a few seconds she heard a muffled click and the door opened. Giving a triumphant nod Bryanna dissolved the shadow and the two of them hurriedly entered the office, closing the door behind them.

"I'll start going through the filing cabinet closest to the window and you do the one at his desk." Bryanna offered.

He nodded and they both split to go through the files. Bryanna ruffled through the file folders quickly, ignoring anything that didn't say Nanobinding on it.

She was just finishing off the second drawer when she picked up on the sound of movement just outside. She shot a panicked look to the Asset who stepped into the shadows while Bryanna tucked and rolled, standing fluidly behind one of the bookshelves and pressing back against the wall. She barely breathed, and in the quiet of the room she heard no trace of The Asset.

There was a jiggle on the knob of the office before the door slowly opened.

"I could have sworn I locked the door when I finished for the night..." A deep male voice sounded.

Bryanna stopped breathing altogether when she heard his words. This was the man that she was supposed to kill. Bryanna almost wondered if he would be able to hear her pounding heart as Bryanna struggled to keep her trembling hands under control. When she had...killed Jezebel, she had been acting on adrenaline and anger and the whole atmosphere of the cell had been very impersonal and clinical. There had been no time to consider what she was really about to do.

But now... Now she was standing in this man's home, and she was about to ruthlessly kill him when he was least prepared.

The man stepped fully into the room, his red hair glinting in the light as the portly man yawned and tightened his housecoat belt. He glanced around sleepily and Bryanna saw a glint of silver as The Asset stepped into the middle of the room. The target let out a gasp and spun to face him before letting out a cry.

"Y-you! But why?! They need me to continue the research! They can't send you to kill me!"

"They never sent me to kill you." The Asset's voice rumbled ominously through the room and Bryanna recognized that as her cue.

Soundlessly she stepped forward, moving around the man to the door where she slid the lock into place with a click. He spun again, turning to face Bryanna who was fully illuminated by the beam of moonlight that shone through the window.

"W-who are you?!"

Bryanna's fists clenched and she hesitated for a moment before forcing her breath out in a hiss and raised her hand, allowing a mass of shadows to form in her hand. She saw the man's eyes flit down to the shadows before widening in horror.

"Project Nyx... No, NO! You need me! I can help you!" Her target shouted, scrambling back as she advanced.

Bryanna ignored him, willing the shadows forward to wrap around his neck like a cuff. Swallowing hard, she prepared herself and then squeezing her eyes shut she gave a snap of her wrist.

The resulting crack echoed through the room and Bryanna slowly released the shadows to allow the body to fall to the ground. It hit the floor with a thump, and Bryanna's eyes remained glued to her target in front of her.

"We need to grab that folder and go. We'll stage the body before we leave." The Asset said, snapping Bryanna's attention away from the body. She gave a jerky nod and ripped open the next drawer, digging through hurriedly for the binder.

"Got it." The Asset suddenly said, Bryanna turning to see him holding a big thick binder.

"What do we do with him?" Bryanna asked, gesturing down at the body.

"We throw him down the stairs, make it look like a freak accident." The Asset answered, reaching down and grabbing the man by the collar of his housecoat.

They opened the door and stepped out into the hall, The Asset turning and approaching the staircase at the far end. He raised his arm to throw the body, but before he could move there was a click.

Bryanna's head snapped to the right and all she had to do was see the form in the back of the hall to know something was wrong.

Click.

She didn't even think before she reacted, throwing herself in between The Asset and the bullet that screamed towards him. The Asset yelled something at her but the words came slowly as she watched her hand fly up in almost slow motion and she lined her hand in shadows to catch the bullet, hand closing instinctively around the metal.

Bryanna panted harshly and stared in shock at the woman across the hallway who stared at the man in The Asset's grip before opening her mouth and letting out a terrified scream. The Asset twitched and the target swung limply in his grasp, the woman shrieking the targets name and stumbling forward.

At the sound of the woman's scream that Bryanna knew could destroy their mission should the couples closest neighbour hear somehow she acted fluidly, hand flying out and sending a ball of shadows flying for the woman. The shadows slammed into the woman's chest, bleeding through and Bryanna forced them through into the woman's heart, cutting off all electrical impulses.

It was a sensation made her throat close up. She could feel everything. Every electrical pulse that she stopped with the shadows, every quiver of the woman's heart, and the final moment when it stopped altogether.

The moment it was over Bryanna pulled the shadows out of her heart and dragged her forcefully over to the stairs where they stood.

"To make it look like she had a heart attack when she saw him fall." She said distantly, her muscles quivering.

He nodded and they both ran towards the window, The Asset tucking the binder into his jacket. They were just about to leave when a muffled voice sounded from a closed room that made both of them freeze.

"Mommy? Are you okay? I-I heard you scream!"

Bryanna's hand flew to her mouth and she spun to face the hall, seeing a soft light seep out from one of the doorways near what had been labeled the master bedroom.

"T-they have children." She choked out.

There was the sound of slippers hitting hardwood, slowly approaching the door and Bryanna knew that they needed to leave now.

But her muscles were frozen and her whole body was shaking as she stared blankly at the door.

The Asset swore, grabbing and jerking her towards the window.

"GO!" He snarled in her ear, kickstarting Bryanna's body into action as she swung out the window onto the pole and slid down before stumbling back several steps as her legs gave out under her and she fell to her knees. Above, The Asset leapt out the window and slid down, landing next to her without a second to spare.

"MOMMY!"

The heartrending scream bled through the window and Bryanna felt her whole body jerk as her eyes went painfully wide. A hand grabbed her upper arm and roughly dragged Bryanna to her feet, forcing the shellshocked girl forward.

"Run!"

Bryanna followed orders, The Asset partially supporting her as she stumbled along beside him through the darkness. He mounted up, Bryanna following and climbing on behind him numbly. As they sped down the empty road images assaulted her mind.

A child coming out to see her parents lying dead in the hall. The overwhelming terror and pain that would fill the child at the realization that she would never be able to see her parents again. Never hold her parents again. Never laugh or cry with them, never joke or fight with them. The child would have lost her parents forever.

Because of Bryanna.

Bryanna felt her stomach lurch and the grip she had on The Asset tightened momentarily.

"Stop the bike...STOP THE BIKE!"

He swerved off to the side and came to a screeching halt, Bryanna clumsily dismounting and almost falling as she scrambled away.

"What-?!"

She lurched for the bushes along a roadside ditch and made it just as she began to retch, bile rising in her throat as she sobbed.

She had killed their parents. She just taken away a child's family. She had lost her parents and been forced into this horror under HYDRA, and now she just may have done the same to another child.

"Oh god, I-I killed a child's mom and dad." Bryanna choked out before retching once again.

She didn't know how long she was there, on her hands and knees as she fought to quell the images that just kept on rising to the forefront of her mind and making her sick. Distantly, she noted the sensation of her short hair being gathered away from her face and a cold sensation being laid gently on the back of her neck.

Bryanna grabbed onto that, mentally forcing everything back and focusing only on that icy cold sensation that covered the back of her neck around the collar.

"Take deep breaths."

Bryanna took gasps of air, the freezing night air burning her raw throat. The tears left a flavour of salt as she licked them away from her lips.

"Again."

In, out. In, out.

With each breath she took she felt the trembling in her limbs begin to fade. As her wits returned to her she realized that The Asset was holding her hair back, and that it had been his metal hand that was on her neck, using the cold to help the nausea.

After a second she slowly rose to her feet, wiping her mouth on her sleeve and turning to face The Asset. He dropped his hands as he rose and when she came face to face with him he gave a clipped nod and strode back to the bike. Once she had mounted behind him they started off for the compound once again, Bryanna sagging against him tiredly.

She just wanted to sleep. To sleep, and never wake up again.

* * *

So what did you think? Reviews are welcome! Flames shall be laughed at, posted for others to laugh at, and ignored as I continue the story.


	21. The Next Step

Hello all!

Here is the next set of three updates, we're getting closer to the end with every update, I'm so looking forward to hearing what you all think of not only the ending of this story, but what you think of the next volume. I'm nearly finished writing volume two of the Shadow Siren series and it's been killing me having to wait to post those chapters!

Haha anyway, I hope you all enjoy the upcoming chapters!

* * *

 **The Next Step**

* * *

Doctor Maximov stood with Agent Fetrad, The Winter Solders temporary handler while he trained Project Nyx.

"Has she completed her missions properly?" Pierce questioned, studying them through the video chat.

"Yes, all missions succeeded without The Asset having to step in and take over. According to The Asset during the Nanobinding mission she killed not only her target, but her targets wife without hesitation when she threated the success if their mission." Agent Fetrad confirmed.

"And how is Project Nyx developing? Are there any concerns you have for her as she begins full time mission completion? I plan to make her and the Winter Solder a tag team, and move her back with The Asset back to his home base. Make her more comfortable going on missions that eventually she can take on missions by herself." Pierce stated.

Dr Maximov shifted further into the camera.

"There is one issue. When we started the process of breaking her down and building her back up for HYDRA, starting the process of stripping her previous identity from her, she was completely obedient and reliant upon us. But now, that spark that fuelled her rebellion before is returning. She is far more resilient then we originally believed, all it's taken to strengthen her again is The Asset showing her what she believes to be kindness by not harming her during training. She's grown attached to him, and somehow has drawn enough confidence that the anger and resentment we've be trying to wipe out of her in beginning to burn in her again. He's loosening our control over her." The Doctor said gravely.

Pierce raised a brow, clearly surprised by his words before leaning back in his chair.

"Hmm..."

"I disagree." Agent Fetrad suddenly said, making the doctor shoot him a sharp look.

"Oh? Why?" Pierce questioned.

"We don't have to fear rebellion from The Asset. He is completely and totally under our control is he not? But Project Nyx is not, we cannot control her mind, wecan onlh threaten her with those she loves. However, as she gets older and the Doctor continues to break her down into the perfect weapon, her passion for her family has the potential to be pushed aside in favour of her own survival. Her memories may fade of them, and the threats on their safety will not hold as much." The Doctor watched Pierce nod as Agent Fetrad continued.

"However, her attachment to The Asset will not fade if we have them working together. That benefits us, as it gives us a more powerful hold over her. All she'll ever have to see is him in the memory chair once, and she'll bow to everything just to make sure we never follow through on our threat of his suffering because of her."

Pierce rubbed his chin, clearly mulling over the Agent's words.

"You may be right. However, the doctor's words hold great merit as well. Perhaps the best thing to do right now is to remove The Asset, send him on a few solo missions and move him to a separate facility for a few months. During that time you will have Project Nyx fulfilling her own missions and eliminating any prisoners within the facility that need to be taken care of. She'll play executioner and if she obeys without fail then I'll continue with my original plan of tag teaming them."

Then Pierce's eyes narrowed.

"However, if she rebels, you will take care of destroying that spark through any means necessary. She will still be useful to us when she is broken."

* * *

Bryanna stared at the doctor wide eyed as she processed his words.

"But we aren't finished my training! He said that I still needed a lot of work last lesson!" She finally said, confused and frustrated.

Doctor Maximov crossed his arms and Bryanna saw a hint of a smirk on his face.

"That might be, but the higher ups have several missions that he must take alone. You will complete your own jobs here at the facility, so you really aren't losing much. You will finish your lesson for today as per usual and then The Asset will leave tonight. He was already made aware of this earlier."

Mr Fetrad turned to The Asset.

"Wrap up anything you need with Project Nyx today. We leave after dinner."

The Asset nodded and Bryanna watched the two men leave, the door clanging shut behind them. The corners of Bryanna's mouth sagged and she turned to her teacher with anxiety filled eyes.

"You're leaving."

"Yes." Was his curt answer as he turned and started jogging towards the running track along the outside of the gym. Bryanna put on a quick burst of speed, hurriedly catching up with The Asset and running alongside him.

"I thought you would be able to stay an teach me until I've learned everything." Bryanna mumbled.

"I was under that impression as well."

They both lapsed into silence as they ran, Bryanna wanted to say something but was unsure of what. The Asset had become an important part of her life here with HYDRA, and for the first time since arriving here she had found someone that treated her like a worthwhile being. She didn't want to lose that, to go back to being the weapon that they heaped abuse onto. The Asset had almost become...a friend.

"What are you thinking?"

Bryanna's head shot up and she looked over to see The Asset staring down at her. He reached up and tapped the top of her head with a quirked brow.

"You're showing emotion on your face, usually you can keep at under control. What's going through your mind?"

Bryanna let out a sigh and carefully weighted each word before speaking.

"I don't want you to leave. You train me and treat me like a person, and you don't punish me or tell on me when I have struggles. You never told them about my reaction to the kid being there, or me being sick. And you never told them about my breakdown before I had to kill Jezebel. You're...my friend."

The Asset twitched at her words.

"I'll be coming back."

"What?" Startled, she paused mid step.

The Asset stopped a few feet in front of her and turned back to face her.

"I was informed that once I finish my missions I will be returning back to come retrieve you, and we will begin doing duel missions. I assume once I return we'll work together until you're cleared for doing solo missions."

Bryanna felt her face brighten and she shot the barest hint of a smile at her teacher before starting to run along the track again.

It must have been a strange sight to say the least, slim and short Bryanna running next to a massive, muscular man with a metal arm and a perpetual scowl on his face. Two assassins, both HYDRA property.

"Today we'll be sparring. Everything else you can work on alone, but you need a partner to spar."

Bryanna nodded and followed him to the mats that were set up for sparring, easily falling into stance as he stood across from her. Then he lunged and it became a whirlwind of movement, parries and blocks, kicks and punches. They sparred as if they were in a real fight, Bryanna holding nothing back but her shadows and going at her Teacher like a cornered animal.

There was nothing careful or calculated about their fight, it looked nothing like even the carefully choreographed fighting matches that Bryanna used to watch with Tony on occasion. Anyone who didn't know they were training might think they were in a true fight, neither being gentle with their movements. She hissed as she was thrown down against the mat, air nearly being knocked out of her lungs. The Asset grunted as she knocked his feet out from under him and managed to topple him to the mats before he was up and coming at her again.

Bryanna brushed her arm over her mouth and felt her lip sting, blood smears coming away on her wrist. He had split her lip.

"You wanna quit?"

She didn't even think about her answer.

"No. Let's go again."

* * *

They sat on the ledge in the tunnel/cave with the two water bottles that they had retrieved from the cooler at the start of the obstacle course.

"Do you ever get tired of them only ever calling you The Asset? Do you ever miss your real name?" Bryanna suddenly asked, voicing her sudden thought without considering the ramifications.

The Asset looked over at her, seeming startled by her question.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, all they ever call you is The Asset. They treat you like a mere object, like you're nothing more then a weapon. They do the same to me, it's been so long since I heard someone refer to me by my real name." Bryanna explained.

His brows furrowed, a disconcerted expression on his face.

"I don't know. I don't remember my name." He finally said, voice low.

Bryanna blinked and her brows furrowed.

"What?! How can you not know your own name!"

He shrugged, light glinting off his metal arm with the movement.

"I don't know. I don't remember much, I know that something important happened and sometimes I get tiny flashbacks, as if the memories are still there and just buried." He explained.

She shifted so that she was fully facing The Asset.

"Do you know why you can't remember?" She asked.

A slightly pained look flickered across his face.

"A chair. Every time things go hazy, it's after the chair. I don't remember why I go into the chair, but it shackles me down and a machine grips my head. There are no words to describe the agony that chair causes..."

Bryanna felt her stomach clench at the haunted expression on his face. Although The Asset did talk and converse with her, he never talked about these kinds of things. She didn't quite understand why he was willing to now, but the bleakness on his face frightened her. She wasn't scared for herself, but for him.

"...Asset?"

He looked away and sighed, head dropping and hair falling forward to hide his face.

"It doesn't matter. I'm better off not remembering."

Bryanna stared up at him worriedly, hesitantly reaching out a hand and placing it on his shoulder in a attempt at comfort. He stiffened and jerked at her touch, his head snapping to the side to stare down at her hand for a moment before his shoulders relaxed ever so slightly and he returned to staring straight ahead at the cave wall on the other side.

"You talk about all this as if you still have your memories." He finally said, his gravelly voice breaking the silence.

Bryanna nodded, hand dropping from his shoulder back to her lap.

"I remember most stuff. My name, fun things that I did with my brother...I remember a lot. But things are starting to fade now, I'm forgetting what my mothers smile looks like, now it just feels like a warm glow. I'm forgetting what my room looked like, I can pick out a few distinct things but everything else is like a blur." Bryanna whispered leaning sideways against the wall.

Quiet fell between them and Bryanna gave a harsh bark of laughter.

"You know what's ironic? I miss my name, yet when I think about myself I don't think of myself by name. I think of myself as Project Nyx."

Bryanna shook her head with disgust, her shadow grey eyes dancing along the wall until stopping on a divot in the "cave". What kind of weak minded person can be changed so much just by what they did to make someone think of themselves as an object instead of a person?!

"What was your name?"

Bryanna's eyes snapped over to see The Asset looking at her, his blue eyes intent and focused. She opened her mouth to respond, then stopped as she glanced around fearfully. Saying her name... she hadn't called herself Bryanna since her time in the room with those lights and those sounds, where she was starved and deprived of sleep and even for a couple of days deprived of water too.

"What's wrong?"

Bryanna closed her eyes, mentally battling within herself before letting out a long breath. She shook her head, and swallowed. She didn't want to be heard by anyone, sh'd go right back to that room of horrors. But she was tired of being weak, of giving into HYDRA's every word. If Tony was in her place...he wouldn't be giving up.

"Project Nyx?" He prompted when she didn't answer his question.

She shook her head.

"No. Not Project Nyx." She answered, licking her dry lips.

Sharing it aloud, it terrified her. That room terrified her, and so did the thought that a single word from the Asset could send her back. It didn't matter though, she didn't care anymore. She was going to tell him. She was going to take that step outside of her safety zone.

Taking a deep breath she shifted onto her knees and with a hand braced on The Asset's shoulders to steady herself she leaned in to whisper in his ear, praying that if she didn't speak too loud she wouldn't have to fear someone else hearing. Her hand trembled as she shared her name with someone for the first time in so long.

"My name is Bryanna."

Her single statement fell heavily and Bryanna instinctively scuttled away from the assassin sitting next to her. That name was forbidden by HYDRA, and while she trusted The Asset to a degree, she was already wondering what had possessed her to voice that name.

"When was the last time someone called you by name?"

Bryanna shrugged, the shadows in her eyes churning.

"I don't know. With the times in the punishment room where they keep me awake, and then the testing days where they put me under while they check to make sure my body is still operating properly despite the blood I've lost track of the days. Do you know how long you've been here with me?"

"At least a year." He answered.

"And I was here for a while before you showed up, so maybe a year and a half I've been awake? Two years?" Bryanna guessed.

He shrugged and they lapsed into silence once more. Below the course Bryanna picked up on movement and she cocked her head as she focused intently.

"Project Nyx! Asset! You have five minutes to wrap up whatever training exercise you are doing right now, and then you will be being brought to your separate rooms while The Asset is preparing to leave." One of the guards that monitored them called out from below.

Bryanna sighed and shifted to the edge of the ledge, jumping out and landing easily below. Moments later The Asset had landed next to her, his blue eyes glinting in the dim lighting.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye." Bryanna said lamely, shrugging.

He said nothing, simply studying her. Bryanna had to crane her head back to meet his gaze and when she tilted her head in question she saw the faintest hint of a smile flit across his lips.

"I suppose this is." Then his face went serious, his gaze becoming piercing and intense.

"I'll be coming back, that doctor won't have control over you forever." He said abruptly. "Just obey and you might be able to avoid the punishment room. Your targets aren't worth rebelling for, never put their life above your own. We serve HYDRA, not the world outside. The world has no say in our jobs, they are not worth our suffering. You cannot forget this."

Bryanna gave a sharp nod and The Asset returned the gesture before turning away and starting for the edge of the cave/tunnel platform. He had only moved a few steps away when Bryanna reached out, grabbing his metal forearm and causing him to turn back to her.

"Stay safe. I need you to get me out of this, please don't leave me with him forever." Bryanna said stiffly, her thoughts flitting to the pleased expression on the doctor's face when he had announced The Asset was leaving.

He reached up, grabbing her hand with his flesh hand and pulling her grip loose before dropping her now empty hand and turning away.

"I'll be back. Goodbye...Bryanna."

* * *

So what did you think? Reviews are welcome! Flames shall be laughed at, posted for others to laugh at, and ignored as I continue the story.


	22. Rebellion

Hello again!

So hopefully you guys enjoyed last chapter! Especially since this chapter get's a...little dark. If the title for this update is any indication, this chapter isn't exactly calm and fun. I do have to give another trigger warning for this chapter, same as usual. Violence, both against others and against Bryanna. It isn't the most pleasant, but this is a major turning point in this story. Don't worry, I have one more update for you guys tonight!

and so we begin!

* * *

 **Rebellion**

* * *

"Project Nyx, you have a new assignment."

Bryanna looked up at the doctor who stood in the door of her room.

"What do you wish me to do?" Bryanna asked, the trained response rising instinctively to her lips.

"A HYDRA prisoner has arrived for elimination. A member of a high up gang that HYDRA worked with to fulfill the greater good. Now it's your turn to rid the world of filth."

Bryanna gave a nod.

"Yes sir."

She rose to her feet, the fabric of her hospital gown shifting against her skin. She hated the hospital gown, she was forced to wear one constantly in the facility unless she was working in the gym. They were a constant reminder of how hopeless she was, not even able to wear decent clothing without the doctor's permission. It was like he revelled in stripping everything that made her a person from her.

She was taken straight to the holding cells, an area she was becoming very familiar with. He escorted her to the cell and opened the door, pushing her through into the room where the prisoner was bound.

"You promised freedom from the law if we helped you!" The man was shouting at the ceiling as Bryanna walked in.

The moment he saw Bryanna his anger seemed to fade slightly, making room for confusion as he stared at the girl in front of him with her head bowed.

"Kid, did you take a wrong turn or something?" He glanced her over, taking in her hospital gown, raggedly cut hair, and collar before snorting. "You look like you escaped the psych ward, what the hell are you doing in here?"

Bryanna ignored his words, staring up at him through her bangs with a sullen glare. She hated these missions, they had become a chore. Kill the criminals, get locked up in her room. It was a miserable cycle, she just wanted to go sleep.

"Hey kid, you-?!"

Bryanna raised a hand, thick shadows forming and reaching towards the man. The panic that used to consume her every time she was called down to take care of a prisoner was gone, instead she just felt a hollowness.

"Strike."

The man's eyes widened in horror as she cut off his supply of air, watching with broken, dead eyes as he suffocated before slumping in his restraints, dead.

"Target eliminated." She whispered as she was required to before turning away from the body.

"Good job Project Nyx."

* * *

"Strike."

This time Bryanna didn't even wait for the body of the thief HYDRA had worked with and was now disposing of to hit the floor. She didn't have wait, she knew that the woman was dead.

"Target eliminated."

* * *

"Strike."

She had been forced to kill two people in sync today. A couple that worked together as an espionage team. She assumed they had crossed HYDRA and gotten themselves caught, since usually Bryanna never had to eliminate these kinds of criminals. Usually she dealt with gangsters, thieves, hitman, and pirates.

The bodies collapsed one after another and Bryanna sagged slightly. Each killing only tired her more. Oh her physical body was just fine, and her power was barely even touched for such simple jobs, but mentally and emotionally Bryanna felt utterly drained. Something had to change, she couldn't take this any longer.

Lately, she would rather be dead then get up in the morning. Her will to hold on was fading, she was just so tired.

"...target eliminated."

* * *

The moment Bryanna woke up she knew something was different. She either woke up on her own or the guards came to retrieve her, she never woke up to shouting.

Instantly Bryanna was up and on her feet, running to the window of her cell and gripping the bars as she leaned close to peer out and see what was going on. The shouts and sounds of struggling neared and Bryanna watched wide eyed as four guards dragged a man in a white coat that was struggling vainly in their grip down the hall.

"I WILL NOT GIVE YOU MY RESEARCH! I don't aid terrorists! My research is only to protect and help humankind! I don't work with monsters!"

Bryanna's mouth hung open slightly as she watched them drag the man past. Once he was out of sight she slowly retreated back to her bed, sitting down heavily and staring at the floor with furrowed brows.

If this man didn't "aid terrorists" didn't that meant that he wasn't a criminal? HYDRA worked through criminals right now, she had never seen someone like him come through the facility before.

* * *

It had been several days since the strange man had been brought to the facility, and Bryanna had all but forgotten the strange man. She went about her days the same as she always had, eating her meals and exercising in the gym before returning to her room for the rest of the day.

She had been eating her dinner quietly in the corner of her room when she heard the familiar clang of her room door being opened. She looked up to see the Doctor step into the room, Bryanna scrambling to her feet in haste to show him the respect he wanted and avoid punishment.

"Is ther-"

"We have a new assignment. Let's go." He barked before turning and striding away, a confused Bryanna hurrying after him. As she got closer to the holding cells she started hearing the sounds of screaming and shouting, the sounds making her falter.

The doctor ripped open the door to one of the larger cells and Bryanna entered the room only to freeze in the doorway as she gaped at the scene in front of her. The man she had seen dragged in was cornered in the back of the room, two guards on either side. He was handcuffed and had cuffs with a longer connecting chain on his feet as well. He was still wearing the clothing he had arrived in, and he was shouting at he guards who were gesturing back.

"You manhandle me and I will never give you what you want!" The man shouted, teeth bared.

"I'm afraid your chance to "give us what we want" is quite up. We don't need your research, we already have it and we have enough people on our team that we are more then able to put it into use without you. We were simply giving you a chance to save your life and join us as we create a new world order. But I am sick of your games and the higher ups are done waiting. You got your chance, and you just lost it. Now you die." The doctor said cooly.

The man went stiff and his eyes widened.

"Die?!"

The doctor smirked.

"Yes. Project Nyx, complete your assignment."

She reacted automatically, her hand rising. However, instead of going on autopilot and just taking care of her assignment as per usual Bryanna felt herself hesitate.

"What's his crime?"

The doctor turned and stared at her.

"What?"

"What is his crime. My usual targets are criminals, what did he do?" Bryanna clarified.

"How dare you questions me?! I gave my order, you follow through."

Bryanna took a breath, The Asset's words that no person's life was worth her suffering playing through her head.

"Is he innocent? Is he a normal citizen?"

The doctor took a jerky step towards her, lips lifted in a snarl.

"You had better shut your mouth and finish your assignment Project Nyx." He spat, a threat glittering in his eyes.

"He is innocent. He never committed a crime, you just want something he won't give you." Bryanna stated, every muscle in her body tense.

"I'm a scientist! I've come across groundbreaking research that could positively revolutionize how science can help hospitals save more lives and I refuse to serve the very people who hurt these people!" The man shouted from his corner, Bryanna jerking at his words.

Her gaze flicked to the doctor and she opened her mouth to speak when the doctor struck, his blow knocking her sideways into the wall. She grunted as she made contact with the wall, before pushing herself upright and turning to the doctor with burning eyes.

"I am already at my limit of patience Project Nyx, kill him already so we can move on." Doctor Maximov squeezed out from between gritted teeth.

Bryanna took a shaking breath before very deliberately dropping her hand.

"No."

The doctor's eyes widened and the guard's jaw dropped.

"You are a weapon. You do not have a say." The doctor hissed, taking a threatening step forward.

"He's innocent! I won't kill him! He's helping people! I won't kill someone who helps save lives, I won't be that kind of monster!" Bryanna cried, her eyes darting from the doctor to the scientist to the guards.

Her hands shook, and her eyes were panicked as she slowly backed away from the Doctor. She knew what her refusal would mean, the punishment room. But she just couldn't kill an innocent man, not someone who wanted to save lives. Her father had wanted to save lives, her father had been friends with scientists. This wasn't HYDRA, this wasn't criminals. No, no she couldn't

"YOU WILL DO AS YOU ARE TOLD!" The doctor roared, signalling the guard closest to her who backhanded her twice before sending her crashing to the ground with a third and more harsh blow.

As she made contact with the ground Bryanna felt her hands began to shake, with a different kind of tension this time. She was so, so tired of being hurt. Every blow, every strike... they added more fuel to the anger she tried so desperately hard to control.

"You will kill him!" The doctor spat, seeming to have forgotten about their prisoner who was watching the scene before him.

"No. I won't."

Bryanna's eyes nearly bugged out and she gave a gag as the guards booted foot slammed into her gut, causing her to skid backwards on the ground, gagging and coughing violently. Tears gathered at the corners of her eyes, reaction to the sudden cramp in her stomach.

"Kill him, now."

Bryanna's eyes were wide and she gasped for air, her muscles shaking as she regained her breath. Once she could breath again, she slowly, haltingly shoved herself to her hands and knees. Her head was dropped which hid the almost animalistic snarl on her face.

A hand grabbed her shoulder, giving a jerk.

"Up you get Project Nyx. Don't disobey the good doctor now." The guard said tauntingly.

Bryanna's lips curled back and she coiled herself before springing upwards, lunging for the guard and with a powerful heave of the shadows she called up, send the guard flying backwards away from her.

"PROJECT NYX!"

The door was blown open as agents exploded into the room. Bryanna ignored them, lunging again and slamming the guard that had hurt her to the floor. The scientist shouted and the Doctor was almost screaming at her but she ignored them all, her face twisted with hatred and rage as she raised a fist and slammed it into his face.

The cracking of his nose did nothing to calm her rage, only fuel it. She began to land blow after blow, ignoring the way he tried to fight against the shadows pinning him down.

"Grab her!"

Strong hands grabbed her arms and the agents yanked her backwards, wrestling her off the guard who spat on her. Bryanna let out a enraged snarl scrabbling against the guards and agents to get free.

"Stupid girl. You're gonna pay for that!" The guard taunted.

"Not as much as you will." Bryanna spat, eyes wild as she shoved her hands forward, the shadows following her bidding and forcing them through to the back of his neck. With one pinch of air she instantly severed the vein and nerves to his brain, the guard giving one spasm before his eyes rolled up into the back of his head as he lay limply on the ground.

"Get her to the room now!" The Doctor roared.

"NO!" Bryanna writhed in their grip, shadows twisting around her as she fought to be free.

"Oh you will. You thought last time was miserable? That will be nothing compared to now. You will kill him, innocent or not. I've had enough. You will submit to HYDRA, and I will be the one you see when you finally break."

* * *

Bryanna hissed and clawed at them, flailing out at her captors with vicious and desperate kicks. She twisted her head, sinking her teeth into the arm of one of the men who swore and ripped their arm free before cuffing her hard on the head. Usually that would be all it took to subdue her but today she was far too out of control, too terrified of what was to come, and as they dragged her to the new room all eyes fell to the screaming and flailing girl in their grip.

She was dragged down the hall before being forced into the holding cell on the end. Bryanna's eyes widening in shock when she realized they weren't even bothering to take her to the punishment room.

They wrestled her to the back wall, grabbing the hand restraints down from the hooks in the ceiling and forced her arms up, clapping the handcuffs around her wrists before releasing her. Unprepared, Bryanna's arms jerked harshly as she found herself just barely hanging from the cuffs. She was forced to stand on her toes and stretch her feet in order to not hang from the cuffs and strain her arms. Healing cuts tugged and stretched with the movement in her arms and she flinched at the sensation.

Below they attached cuffs to her ankles that were chained to the wall, giving her only a few inches of shifting room should she move. Dread filled her, she knew they had only given that small chain length for one reason, to keep her from straining her leg muscles when the punishments came.

The doctor began to approach, each step closer making her heart pound.

"The day your parents died was the happiest day of my life. The man that helped thwart our predecessors plans was finally dead, they would have been so proud to have seen that. Then we got you, a child who's body had a higher chance of accepting the inhuman blood, and one that would be our weapon in the times to come. Such irony, using the child of our enemy to destroy his dreams that had come to fruition. But you are your father's daughter, and you just keep resisting."

He sneered as Bryanna tried to tilt her body backwards away from him.

"The higher ups said that I couldn't destroy you, that at the end of this you still had to be able to complete missions." The Doctor said, stopping in front of Bryanna and reaching up to mockingly cup her chin. "But they never said that I couldn't shatter your will."

Those words fell ominously and she watched as he withdrew the silver remote, meeting her her eyes with a sadistic grin and he pushed up the slider.

A scream ripped from her lips, her muscles straining against their bindings. Tears rolled down her cheeks, her body spasming with each pulse of electricity through her.

"You will yield to HYDRA!"

* * *

Several cells over where the "scientist" was being held agent Christian sat, face pale. The screams of agony echoed through the room and the hall, keeping him on edge. He stared at the door, his fists clenched and as the seconds ticked by he carefully slipped his hand down to the waist of his pants, fingers running over the button of his slacks and pressing down hard.

There was a flicker in the lights before they blanked out, he could hear the cameras short out and outside in the hall there were several shouts.

As everything shorted out he acted instantly, reaching under the waist of his pants and removing a paper thin device roughly the side of a dime. He clicked the button on the side, flinching as the snap before a soft voice came through.

"Agent, what's your status." A crackly voice questioned.

"It backfired, we overestimated the importance that was placed on the false "Doctor." The info we fed them wasn't enough." The agent hissed, speaking as fast as possible. "I almost died today, they abruptly lost patience. I have no way of getting information, and no more time. They had a executioner or something brought in, but everything went sideways and the person supposed to kill me backed out. I'm almost out of time, and I'm not the only one here. Send a extraction team now!"

"Who else-"

There was more shouting, closer this time as the lights went back on and the agent looked up at the door.

"No time. Just come!"

With that he released the button and popped the device in his mouth, swallowing just as the door to his prison cell was thrown open and he was swarmed. As the men shouted at him, clearly assuming that he was at fault for the power outage, he couldn't help but think that the little device he swallowed was not going to come out the other side very comfortably.

* * *

Bryanna's head hung forward, her breathing rattling as she attempted to recover fro, the last round of shocks. Her stomach growled but she ignored it, knowing that no food would come. Her eyes were half lidded and exhaustion weighed heavily on her.

She should have listened. She should have just killed the scientist. The Asset had told her the truth, no one's life was worth this. No one mattered enough to go through this hell for.

"But he saves lives..." Bryanna whimpered, her voice cracking.

She just wanted not to suffer anymore. She didn't want to be responsible for innocent lives lost, she already had trouble sleeping as it was. She had already taken lives, why did she have to take innocent lives now too?

"I want out." She sobbed to herself, the nausea rising up again and making her dry heave.

Anything had to be better then this. Anything.

* * *

Clint Barton had seen a lot of things in his time with SHIELD. His clearance level allowed him to see secrets that reveals the worst of humanity, and his job constantly immersed him in a world where you had to learn how to harden himself to what he was forced to whiteness. He was prepared for anything, heck he had even helped make a SHIELD agent out of an enemy spy and assassin! If you asked him, nothing could shock him now.

However, this mission proved him deeply wrong.

It was supposed to be a straight forward and simple, Coulson who was leading the investigation already had planted an agent in the terrorists midst, creating a "scientist" out of thin air that had suddenly made a groundbreaking discovery in order to catch the attention of this terrorist operation. One that could further medical care in the hospital... or assisting the rise of illegal human experimentation in terrorist organizations such as the one they were busting that day.

Then things had changed, Clint had been called and told to assemble the teams he was leading and head out. Their agent inside was on the clock, and according to Coulson there was a very high chance their agent would be killed within the next couple of days if they didn't get him out and crack down on this operation.

"I want team alpha taking the left wing, team beta taking the right wing and the rest of you come with me! You kill before they do, I don't care how many of them die just as long as we have enough people to interrogate and put on trial!" Clint ordered, taking off down the central hall towards where the signal for Agent Christian was coming from.

The teams took off, gunshots and shouts echoing through the sterile halls. This was the most advanced underground operation outside of headquarters he had seen yet, and that was saying a lot. He had agents checking the rooms they passed as they ran straight for the cell that the signal was coming from. It took moments to break the lock before he was forcing his way into the cell and found his Agent in the corner handcuffed.

"Looks like we made it in time. How are you holding up?" He asked, grabbing a small pick from his pocket and easily unlocking the cuffs.

He expected the agent to be glad to be out of those cuffs, to make one of the quips that Agent Christian was so well known for, but the agent in front of him did none of that.

"You need to get us out! That doctor running this hellhole is a monster!" Agent Christian shouted, grabbing Clint's shoulder and giving a shake.

The agents face was pale and the bags under his eyes were big enough that you could carry groceries in them.

"Woah buddy, take a breath. We're here, you're fine. What did they do to you? It looks like they kept you awake from the moment you got here." Clint questioned, helping the agent to his feet.

"They never touched me, but for the last two and a half days all I've been hearing is screaming. I thought I was prepared for anything, torture...anything. But the sound of her screams..."

Clint stared at the man before getting agents on both sides to help him.

"Screams? Her? Agent, is there another prisoner here?"

"I don't know what she is! It-"

"Hawkeye! We found a cell at the end of the hall that I think has another prisoner in it! We're getting it open now but a man, the doctor I believe, just fled down a side corridor with agents in pursuit."

Hawkeye instantly left Agent Christian in the care of two of his men and jogged down the hall after the agent that had called him, following to a cell at the end of the hall that had two agents working on it.

"Is there a window?"

"No, but we heard a moan from inside when we reached the door." The agent reported.

Hawkeye nodded and slowed his pace just as the agents got the door free and moved it out of the frame. They started to file into the room before freezing, a gasp floating back to where he was approaching from.

"What is it?"

"This..." The agent trailed off before backing out and looking over at Clint who reached the door with a few long strides and pushed his way in.

What he saw made his jaw drop and his eyes widen in shock.

It was a girl. She couldn't be older then twelve or thirteen, wearing a hospital gown that was half hanging off one of her shoulders. Her hair was extremely dark, but Clint couldn't tell if it was brown or black with how greasy and matted it was.

"Oh man." He breathed as he stepped further into the room.

He had never seen anything like this before, and he had seen children who fell victim to terrorists and criminals.

The girl was for all intents and purposes hanging from the ceiling, her arms extended fully above her head and she was bound by cuffs that attached to the ceiling with a chain. Dried blood covered the underside of her arms. Her feet were shackled as well with just under a foot long chain that bound her feet to the wall. Her toes just dragged on the ground, her entire body limp. The girl's head was lolled to the side, showcasing the massive purple and black/blue bruise on her cheek, and the spots of blood under her nose that were clearly the result of a nosebleed.

"Go grab the medic!" Clint barked, rushing forward towards the girl.

He reached up to get the strange metal collar around her neck off first but when his bare fingertips made contact with the metal he gave a hiss and jerked away, staring down at the tiny burned spots that had come just after the mild shock he had received.

One of his men came forward, bolt cutters in hand as the agent went first at the handcuffs above the girl's head. The clanking of the metal made the girl's eyes flutter slightly, long eyelashes just barely parting enough for Clint to get a glimpse of what looked like shadows under her lids.

"Asset?" The girl whimpered.

"Hold on kiddo, we're gonna get you out of this" Clint said soothingly, reaching out to support the girl as the first of the handcuffs were clipped.

Her hand fell to his right shoulder and clung tightly, her mouth trembling and as the second chain was cut she fell forward into Clint who easily caught her, adjusting his grip while they got started on the cuffs on her feet.

"Asset, you said you would come back and you really did. I thought you had forgotten" Tears leaked out of the corners of the girl's eyes and her head lolled sideways onto Clint's shoulder as he crouched down and shifted her in his arms so he could carry her more securely.

The chains on her feet were cut loose and he carefully exited the cell, looking around for an agent to hand the kid off to while he gathered his teams.

"HAWKEYE!"

Clint spun to face the source of the shout, seeing several of his agents dragging a unconscious and restrained doctor between them. They were racing towards him with the doctor sagging between them.

"We caught him in some sort of private office, but he hit a destruction button. The countdown gave us ten minutes on the dot from the moment it started to get out before this place is blown sky high!"

He froze. They rigged the underground bunker?!

"GO GO GO! DROP EVERYTHING, BRING ONLY THE PRISONERS YOU HAVE NOW AND GET OUT! WE HAVE A BOMB IN TEN MINUTES!" Clint roared, not bothering to find someone to pass off the girl in his arms too and instead just sprinting down the hall.

With his movements the fragile girl in his arms let out several pathetic cries, making Clint wince when he saw her face screw up in pain. But he didn't stop, he simply shouted out orders to his teams, they needed to get out and he refused to lose any of them to this terrorist group.

He and his teams managed to escape the bunker, prisoners being dragged behind them. They left behind dead bodies in the bunker, along with more terrorist assistants, and as they got out Clint ordered them to bar the door.

They didn't stop running once they got out, he ordered them to keep going as far away from the bunker as possible. He was still running when he felt the earth below him shake and without thought he dived forward into the soft grass of the field, shielding the girl they had rescued with his body as back behind them in the distance, the shed that served as the entrance to the terrorists bunker exploded.

"Hawkeye! Hawkeye, come in!"

Clint pushed himself up, still shielding the girl lying unconscious below him. He reached up and tapped the comm in his ear while glancing around at his team.

"We're here, all the agents made it out fine and we have six prisoners plus the doctor that ran this hellhole. We need you to extract us as soon as possible, we need a medical team sent with the transport." He quickly relayed through the comms.

"Is Agent Christian stable?"

Clint glanced over at the agent in question that was currently staggering to his feet.

"He's fine, said they never laid a hand on him. The medical isn't for him, it's for the other prisoner we found. You need to hurry, I don't know how long she'll hold on for."

"She?"

"Yeah, she." Clint swallowed. "There was a girl... I thought that the executioner would be the one in that cell being tortured."

"How old?" Was the crackly question.

"Twelve or thirteen. The torture they seemed to put her through looks like enough to break an adult. But she's just a kid..."

He glanced down at the broken and frail girl on the ground.

She was just a kid.

* * *

So what did you think? Reviews are welcome! Flames shall be laughed at, posted for others to laugh at, and ignored as I continue the story.


	23. Rescued

Hello all!

First off I would like to apologize for how long it has taken me to update again, things have been pretty chaotic in my life and unfortunately my update schedules have suffered as a result.

On the bright side, I'm finally back in working order (sort of lol) and I bring to you the next grouping of updates! Thank you so much for your patience and your reviews, it made me smile when I saw the alerts for this story:)

Enjoy!

* * *

 **Rescued**

* * *

Phil Coulson strode down the hall towards the medical bay quickly, paying no attention to the agents and assistants that milled through the halls around him. He passed the main bay, and several private care rooms before stopping in front of one of the rooms reserved for treating those detained by their division. Clint Barton stood next to the door, flipping through some papers in hand.

"Barton, why am I not surprised to see you here." Phil sighed, a smile tugging at his mouth.

The blond archer looked up and shot him a smirk.

"What can I say? I'm curious to see how the kiddo pulled through. Shook me up petty good seeing a young girl in the state she was."

Phil nodded and keyed in the code on the side of the door, pushing the door open when the lock released. When they entered the hospital room both of them looked at the hospital bed where the mystery girl lay. She still hadn't woken up since they had rescued her several days before.

She had been cleaned up completely, the blood that had coated her arms was gone and the shallow cuts cleaned and bandaged. When she had been brought in her hair had been greasy and matted, but nurses had washed her and now the girl looked clean and healthier then when she arrived.

Phil rounded the bed and approached the girl, staring down at her neck silently. When the girl had arrived she had been wearing a metal collar, one that Clint had said had been warm to the touch when he first found her. They had managed to get it off, sending it to evidence. An electric collar, one that when they tested when they had gotten it off of her gave suck a powerful shock that at full power it could kill someone. Around the collar her skin had been perfectly fine, the skin only slightly reddened right next to it. But underneath the collar, the skin was badly burnt. Their medical team had treated the burns, but said that the scarring would never go away.

"I look forward to when interrogations can start on the prisoners. Maybe then we can get some answers on what happened to her." Phil commented, glancing up at Clint who nodded.

"Do you have any clue who she is or where she came from?"

Phil nodded and beckoned for the Agent and friend to follow him as he left the room.

"I'm getting the results back today. It's a true mystery though, I went through missing persons records from all over the world to get some idea of who she was while we waited for results but nothing came up. She might as well be a ghost for all the information I can find on her." He explained, walking down the hall with Clint.

"Sir?"

Phil looked over to see one of the assistants approaching with a thick file.

"We have the results on the test for the girl. Here you are."

He accepted the files, nodding as the assistant continued on. He stepped into an unused office, Clint directly behind him.

"Perfect timing, why don't we see who our mystery girl is." He said calmly, flipping open the file with interest.

He scanned the initial health records, ignoring the results for the moment in favour of learning the girl's name. However, when his eyes landed on what he was searching for, he definitely did not anticipate seeing the name he did.

"Well now... this is certainly unexpected."

"What is it?" Clint questioned.

"It appears that I was entirely spot on, if her DNA tests are correct, then for all intents and purposes she really is a ghost.

* * *

Bryanna's eyes opened slowly, her body felt like it had been run over by The Asset and his motorcycle. She shifted, and let out an involuntary groan at the throbbing pain in her stomach, she couldn't believe how long it was taking for the bruise from the kick to go away.

When she finally blinked her eyes open she stiffened. She was in a medical room of some sort, but this room looked nothing like the rooms in the facility. It took her a moment before the memories of what had taken place came rushing back and she stiffened before bolting upright. Instantly she received the reward for her sudden movement, pain piercing through her middle.

"Ow." She hissed.

Her eyes flitted over the room, pale yellow walls and a bright window with bars over it. She was still in some sort of holding facility, but it certainly wasn't the doctor's facility.

"It wasn't a dream, he really did come back." Bryanna murmured, glancing down at the equipment attached to her.

There was movement outside the door and Bryanna tensed as the door was pushed open, a woman in scrubs entering with a clipboard that she was studying intently. When the woman looked up she gave a startled exclamation.

"You're finally awake!" She exclaimed.

Bryanna nodded and the woman set down the clipboard and began to check her over, using a stethoscope that hung around her neck to check Bryanna's heart and breathing.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm well and ready to work." Bryanna answered automatically, falling back into the routine from her medical appointments at the facility. HYDRA must have the same procedure when working with their tools.

The woman blinked, staring at her in confusion.

"Pardon?"

Bryanna ignored the woman, looking over at the window.

"Where is The Asset?"

"The who?"

Bryanna turned back to the woman, brows furrowed.

"The man that rescued me, where is he?" Bryanna clarified.

The woman's eyes light up with understanding and she opened her mouth to respond, but before she could speak a male voice cut through the peace of the room.

"That would be my agent, but his name isn't "The Asset"."

Bryanna's head swung towards the door, staring as a unfamiliar man stepped into the room. She instantly noticed his receding hairline and snapping eyes before taking in the confident way he moved and the way the nurse differed to the man. He must have been the man in charge of this facility. Every nerve ending was practically standing on end as she watched the man approach and sit down. Her fists clenched and unclenched at her side as he studied her.

It took her a moment to regain control of her features, but after a moment she smoothed her face into a carefully blanked mask. The man's brow raised slightly at her lack of expression and Bryanna straightened her back, staring straight ahead silently as she waited for whatever came next. In the doorway she watched a severe looking man with a eyepatch step just in the doorway, meeting her look with an unrecognizable one of his own.

"How are you feeling?" The man next to her bed questioned, tone friendly.

"I'm well and ready to work." Bryanna said stiffly, not looking away from the place on the wall across from her that she had fixed her eyes on.

"She said that when I asked her how she was feeling as well." The nurse whispered.

"I see." The man in the chair murmured.

A creak echoed through the room and she saw the man lean forward out of the corner of her eye. She felt her breathing pick up, she had no idea what was taking place and it was panicking her. Was this going to be the next stage of her punishment?! Were they getting rid of her because of her resistance?!

"We aren't going to be putting you to work, feel free to rest. We just want to ask you a couple of questions." The man in the door said, gesturing for her to lean back in her bed and relax.

She did as she was ordered, leaning back stiffly against the pillows.

"What are the questions?"

"Well, we'd like to know first off what you remember from before you were brought here." The man in the chair said.

She tensed. There was always a right and wrong answer to those kinds of questions, and the wrong answer was always painful.

"I remember my punishment for showing disobedience, and I remember the lesson I was being punished so that I would learn. I have learned from my mistake, I will not disobey the will of HYDRA again." Bryanna finally answered voice quiet.

Neither men reacted, but the nurse that was checking the machines behind her gave a muffled gasp that caused Bryanna to look up sharply at her.

"What lesson would that be?" Chair man asked, his voice almost strained.

"Those who call themselves justice are unworthy of controlling the world as they do. They must make way for the rightful rulers of this earth, and those who dare to apposed shall fall under the wrath of HYDRA. HYDRA is the only true right way, they are the only way, we must all serve them and willingly give ourselves to the glorious purpose they strive to achieve. It is my destiny in life to make way for the way of HYDRA, and to fail in my missions is to fail my purpose on this earth. Hail Hydra."

Her answer was robotic, she had recited that answer so many times that she could probably do it in her sleep and recite it backwards.

"...what?"

Bryanna looked over at the man in the chair to see him staring at her, a strange look in his eyes.

"I will complete my mission now. I will eliminate the scientist." She forced out, her throat closing up even as the words left her lips.

The nurse let out a strangled sound, backpeddaling away from Bryanna hurriedly. She ignored the woman, used to strange reactions by now and simply focused on the men in front of her.

The man by the door stepped further into the room, gesturing for the nurse to leave.

"Miss Stark-"

That name hit her like a bolt of lightning, her body visibly jerking in shock and causing the man to cut himself off as Bryanna wheeled to face him, the blank mask shattered to reveal fear and confusion.

"What did you just say?!"

"I called you by your last name, is there an issue?" The man in the chair asked calmly.

"That's not my name! I'm not a name at all! I'm Project Nyx, HYDRA was the one that taught me that! Your people taught me that!" She shouted hoarsely.

Chair man stood abruptly to reach into his hand in his pocket and Bryanna reeled back, nearly falling off the far side of the bed as her hands flew up to her neck. When her hand reached her neck she froze, her brows furrowing when her hand touched soft gauze instead of cold metal.

"W-what?!"

All control on her emotions dropped and shadows began to form around her, thickening and coiling around her body. The men's eyes widened in shock and they both leapt back from her as she cowered away from them, arms wrapped around herself.

"I don't believe my eyes! Are those, shadows?!" Chair man questioned, tone disbelieving.

Eye patch pushed open the door, allowing the two men to exit quickly.

"We need to go wake up Agent Christian. I think we need some answers." He stated, reaching up to a blue button on the wall and pressing it hard before exiting.

The moment the button was pressed a cool feeling washed through Bryanna's veins, the sensation bringing exhaustion with it. Her body sagged and Bryanna's eyes slid shut against her will, the girl slumping in the massive bed as the sedative took over.

* * *

The next time the door to her room opened and the two men from the last visit walked in they weren't alone. Seven guards in full armour and sporting large guns walked in behind them, lining the outside of the room.

Bryanna instantly was up, ripping the machines that were attached to her off without notice to the pain as she scrambled back away from the men and their agents. She pressed her back to the wall, both hands raised as shadows began to gather in her palms. Her face was twisted in a snarl and she glared murderously out at them. Seven rapid succession clicks echoed through the room as the agents behind the men readied and aimed their guns at her.

"If any of you come one step closer to me I'll kill all of you. I don't know what kind of twisted game you guys are playing, but I refuse to be part of it." She spat, her harsh breathing echoing through the room.

"So you really do have control over those strange shadows." Eyepatch commented.

"Of course I do! Why else would HYDRA keep me?!" Bryanna snapped, baffled by the actions of these men.

They didn't act like HYDRA agents that were monitoring her before her next job, they were acting like they had no idea what she was. What on earth was going on?!

"Miss Stark-'

"DON'T CALL ME THAT! I refuse to play your games! I don't care who you are, I won't be thrown back in the punishment room! I'm not Miss Stark, I'm Project Nyx!" Bryanna howled, her body shaking.

"Miss-..." The other man that had sat in the chair with her trailed off. "Girl, I need you to calm down. You have this all mixed up, we aren't here to punish you or torture you. We just want to talk to you."

She barked out a harsh laugh.

"Right. That's why I have seven loaded guns pointed at me right now."

The man sighed.

"Please, just put away those shadows. We just want to talk to you. We aren't who you think we are. We aren't HYDRA.

Bryanna's jaw dropped. What?! Her hands lowered, but the shadows remained as she stared in utter confusion.

"How-what-... who are you?!"

"I'm agent Coulson, and this is Mr Fury. We aren't from HYDRA, or connected to those terrorists in any way. We're quite the opposite, we work for the good guys."

"I don't understand..." Bryanna muttered, her shadows fizzling out.

The man took a step closer, holding out a black leather thing with what looked like an ID card inside.

"Several days ago we stormed a terrorist bunker and took down their operation. We rescued out hostage agent, and we rescued you. The bunker was blown to bits, there's nothing left of that place. Those questions have been to try to piece what happened to you together, since we haven't been able to start interrogation yet and our agent that was planted in the bunker is still in medical care and hadn't gone through debriefing yet. The only thing we had were the results of a DNA test, and the results only gave us more questions."

Bryanna reached out and snatched the ID away from the man, staring down with furrowed brows. Phil Coulson, agent of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division.

"See, we aren't here to hurt you."

Bryanna snorted and threw the ID badge on the floor in front of "Agent Coulson".

"Yeah, HYDRA said the exact same thing to me when I arrived there. And look at me now."

There was no response as Bryanna slowly straightened from her defensive crouch and slowly started moving towards the hospital bed.

"Miss Stark let me help you." Agent Coulson said, reaching out towards her.

Bryanna jerked away, using her shadows to slap his hand away and making him flinch in surprise at his contact with said shadows.

"Don't touch me." Bryanna ordered, her voice trembling as she made her way to the bed and nearly collapsed onto it. "What kind of questions did your DNA test bring up?"

She didn't really care, in fact she was hardly even paying any attention to her question. Her head was spinning, how was it possible that she wasn't with HYDRA? Was this all some sort of cruel joke?

"Plenty of them. But for now I only want the answer to one." Agent Coulson said before taking a step closer, ignoring Bryanna's flinch.

"How are you sitting here alive in front of me? According to any records on you, Bryanna Stark died exactly six years ago on this day."

* * *

Bryanna sat perfectly still as several nurses moved around her unwrapping the gauze from her neck. She had learned that upon arriving here they had found a way to get the electric collar off her, but that her neck hadn't come away unscathed.

"It's coming along perfectly. We just need to leave it to air out now." The nurse informed her with a small smile. "In fact, you're almost completely cleared. The bruises have healed up nicely and you're practically a hundred percent. Soon you can move out of the medical bay."

She nodded, staring down at the clothing she had been changed into. For once wasn't a hospital gown, or a white workout suit. It was a pair of black stretchy pants and a green shirt with a cartoon characters and the name Yoshi in glittery writing. She wasn't a fan of the shirt, but anything was better then her usual clothing.

"I want to see."

The nurse closest to her looked at her in surprise.

"Your neck?" She asked.

"Yes."

The nurses exchanged looks before one gestured towards the bathroom.

"Can you walk to the bathroom alright? There's a large mirror in there you can look at."

Bryanna nodded and stood carefully, glaring when one of the nurses reached over to help her. She quickly crossed the floor to the bathroom, pushing open the door and moving to face the mirror for the first time since HYDRA. What she saw made tears prickle in her eyes.

Bryanna was not a vain girl, with the life she had woken up into she had never even bothered to focus on her looks. But when she studied herself she had never felt so ugly and worthless before in her life.

There was the residual discolouring from a bruise on her face, and despite now being clean her hair still hung limply around her face without any healthy shine. Her eyes held no sparkle, and all along her arms there were thin scars that were left over from the hundreds of medical appointment experiments with HYDRA.

But the part that hit her the hardest was the burn on her neck. Ringing her neck exactly where the collar had sat was scars from the burn that the overheated collar during her last punishment had given her. The skin was discoloured and completely stood out against her fair skin. Bryanna's fingers came up, running along the scarred skin and her eyes drifted shut as she bit down on the inside of her cheek.

It didn't matter. She wasn't a beauty pageant girl, she was a killer. Scars didn't change that, it just showed the uglyness inside on the outside as well.

She turned away from the mirror, hardening her face and ignoring the pitying expression on the nurses face.

"Looks like I just traded in the metal collar for a more permanent one." Was her offhanded statement as she sat back down on the bed.

She just didn't care anymore.

* * *

The name that the assistant we just interrogated gave us as one of their most recent targets was Jordan Blakbrant. That name sounds familiar to me, run it through the system." Nicholas Fury ordered, leaving the interrogation room with wide strides.

He left the room and started towards his office, slowing only when Phil Coulson approached.

"What kind of information on her did you get?" Phil asked as he fell into step next to Fury.

"That girl is a lot more then we give her credit for. That slight little thing has been putting that anger to good use. Agent Christian wasn't kidding when he said she could kill, I have a list of over thirty names that I have running through our systems right now of people she's killed. So far the only matches that I have are criminals, and from what I understand she just killed them in the holding cells at the base. But there's one that they specified was a mission that she got rid of for HYDRA, a man named Jordan Blakbrant."

Phil paused midstep and Fury turned to face him, taking in his startled expression.

"You know him."

"I do. That man was in all the science magazines, he found a way to bond nanotechnology with human cells, opening up a true world of possibilities for not only for things like advanced equipment and better prosthetics which were a few of the mentioned ideas, but also a way to further the fight against cancer. Programming the technology to lock onto cancerous cells and eliminate them before they could take over the body. His death and the sudden vanishing of his research hit the medical science community hard. Dreams of groundbreaking development in the saving of patients lives lost in an instant." Phil said, his voice quiet.

Fury let out a low whistle.

"And all of that lost at the hands of a fourteen year old girl, and not willingly if what we've seen so far is any indication."

The men continued down the hall without a word, both wrapped up in their own thoughts.

Working with this girl was certainly going to be interesting.

* * *

"You can finally move to a more comfortable room!" One of the nurses chirped as Bryanna sat on the edge of the bed, letting the woman take her blood pressure.

She nodded quietly to the woman, glancing over at the door impatiently as she waited for whoever was going to bring her to her new room. Finally the door opened, letting Agent Coulson and several armed agents into the room. Bryanna stood, looking over at them with cautious excitement.

"Ready to move to your new room?"

"Yes." Was her cagey answer as she watched the smiling agent nod to the nurse before beckoning to the door.

"After you Miss Stark."

Bryanna twitched at hearing the unfamiliar form of address, unused to being spoken to as anything more then an object. When Agent Coulson gestured for her to go ahead Bryanna hurried out the door, not meeting any of the agents eyes and keeping as far away from them as possible. Agent Coulson followed her out and led her through the maze of halls to a separate floor, steering her down a short hallway with two doors on either side. Between the doors on both side of the hall brightly coloured abstract paintings hung.

Phil walked up to the closest door on the left, quickly keying in a code and opening the door for Bryanna.

She was unsure of what she expected from her new room, a tiny box with a thin bed and maybe a window, nothing special. But instead what greeted her was something entirely different, the room was bright and airy with a pretty pale green painted on the walls. There was a metal framed bed in the corner with a mattress much thicker then the one she slept on in HYDRA was, and it was covered with a fluffy quilt with a big pillow at the top.

She slowly spun in place, mouth hanging agape as she took in a level of luxury she hadn't experienced in six years, taking note of the small bookshelf against the wall closest to what she assumed was a bathroom, with quite a few books sitting on it. There was a table against the wall across from the head of her bed with two plastic chairs, and a big window that she could see out even with the thick metal bars on the outside.

"This is my room?!"

"Yes it is." Agent Coulson assured her with a small smile.

She nodded, crossing over to the bed and sitting down slowly on the mattress before looking over at the Agent with suspicion.

"What's the catch? You want me to complete missions in exchange for this?"

Agent Coulson shook his head.

"No catch. I told you, we aren't HYDRA. You will not be treated like a prisoner when from the information we have you were every bit as much a victim of that terrorist group as those hurt outside in the real world."

Bryanna nodded, looking over her room again.

"I'll leave you to settle in." He said before backing out of the room and closing the door.

Bryanna waited until she couldn't hear the steps of him or the others before standing and beginning to explore her room curiously. She could hardly believe that she was really getting to stay in such a beautiful room.

Maybe they really weren't like HYDRA after all.

* * *

So what did you think? Reviews are welcome! Flames shall be laughed at, posted for others to laugh at, and ignored as I continue the story.


	24. Kindness

Hello all!

Hopefully you enjoyed that last chapter, the first of the next stage of the story. Now onto the next part!

* * *

 **Kindness**

* * *

Bryanna sat in the interrogation room glaring angrily at the two way mirror in front of her. She knew they were behind that glass, to cowardly to sit in the same room as her. Agent Coulson sat across from her quietly, sipping his coffee as he studied her.

"Is it fair to assume that if you won't give us information on HYDRA, that it is because you agree and support HYDRA?" He asked.

The slam of her fists on the table made the agents finger on his coffee cup twitch and she glowered at him, stabbing her finger towards the medical reports that complete with pictures "just happened" to be sitting near the agent.

"Do those look like the marks of a supporter?" She hissed, knowing that he was only saying that to bait her into speaking but unable to ignore his words. "Do you think that a supporter would go through the hell I went through? You've seen the pictures, you know what kind of damage has been done to me. How dare you say that."

"Then why don't you tell us what we need to know?"

Bryanna opened her palm and watched a shadow orb form, staring at it silently before allowing it to vanish.

"I refuse to give in to a legal organization of liars and monsters. You aren't the opposite of HYDRA, you're just like them. The only difference is that your methods of getting what you want from a "kid" are gentler." Then she sneered. "At least they are now, but I can't help but wonder how long they'll remain kind when I refuse to break."

"We aren't trying to break you Miss Stark, we just want to put the doctor and his people away for a long, long time, charge them with every crime known to man. There's only so much we can charge them with, currently we only have the eyewitness reports from the agents when they broke in, we need something tiger to make sure they never come out." Agent Coulson said tiredly.

"I don't care. I refuse to relive my hell because you people can't do your job properly."

* * *

Bryanna was sitting in her bed reading a book when she heard the sound of the door locking system released. Her grip on her book tightened and her jaw clenched, but she refused to look up when the door opened.

Those agents had been coming almost daily, pressing for her to spill her story of horrors that she endured with HYDRA. They refused to accept no for an answer, refusing to understand that even thinking about what she went through made her hands go clammy and her heart beat picking up.

"Bryanna, you have a visitor."

Bryanna looked up with narrowed eyes only to pause when she saw a different man then any of the usual agents or Agent Phil and Fury enter the room. This guy wasn't thin lipped or holding a gun, nor did he have the stern questioner face on. He was a dirty blond with twinkling blush grey eyes, the smile playing on his lips in equal parts mischievous and kind.

"Who are you?"

"Depends on who you talk to." Was the cheeky reply as the stranger entered her room fully and the door closed behind him.

Under usual circumstances Bryanna might have smiled at his words but when the door closed behind him her eyes only further narrowed.

"So they decided to send someone new to question me? How many times to I have to tell you that I'm not going to lick the governments boots for saving me and spill everything I know! If you idiots had been doing your job in the first place to crack down on the terrorists I wouldn't be here in the first place! I don't care if you "need" my information, I'm not reliving the hell I went through just so that you can develop a fat file on the doctor and his disgusting helpers!" Bryanna snarled, standing to her feet with her fists clenched.

The man's eyebrows raised and he held his hands up in a placating gesture.

"Woah kiddo! You have it all wrong, I'm not here to interrogate or question you or anything like that!" He said hurriedly, making Bryanna sneer and turn away, walking over to the window to make it look like she was watching the birds outside.

She watched his reflection in the window for any hint of a lie and saw him casually lean up against the wall.

"Really. Then why are you here?"

"To see how you were doing." Was the simple answer.

Bryanna turned back to face him and studied him, unimpressed.

"You don't even know me, why would you care?"

The man breathed a laugh.

"Well, I was the one that led the teams who busted down on those terrorists. I saw you in that cell and me and my team were the ones that got you out of there before the bunker exploded. I wanted to see how you were doing now that you had been here for a about a month. See if you were on the mend and how my boss and his agents were treating you."

Bryanna glared at the man.

"Well you've seen me, now get out. I'm not a circus sideshow freak and I have no interest in any pity you might have to offer. I just want to be left alone by your worthless organization." She spat, her words filled with venom.

The man blinked, appearing taken aback by her words.

"If you want me to leave I can, but-"

"Believe me, I want you to leave. Now." Bryanna snapped, cutting him off mid sentence.

He sighed, nodding and stepping back.

"Alright, I'll go. Have a good day, alright Bryanna?"

She ignored him and he rapped on the door, a guard's face appearing in the window as the door clicked and opened, letting the strange agent out. He glanced back at her once more before the door closed and he was gone, once again leaving Bryanna alone.

"Why can't they just leave me be." Bryanna muttered, curling up on her bed above the covers and closing her eyes tightly as she imagined herself drifting off somewhere else.

Somewhere far, far away from all government and terrorist organizations. Somewhere that pain and suffering couldn't touch her while she slept in soft grass, alone and free of people who would hurt her.

* * *

As Clint strolled down the hall he thought about when he had first found the girl, Bryanna Stark.

She had been delirious and in pain, but her reaction when he had touched her shoulder and she had thought him to be someone named The Asset, her reaction had been one of relief. Her voice had been soft and not just with exhaustion. The girl he had seen today was hard and angry, distrust and darkness in her eyes. Everything had been prepared for a fight, and he knew that if he had posed a threat to his life she would have easily killed him. She was terrified and very dangerous.

But he had also seen something deeper in her eyes, behind layers of steel that she had built up. There had been pain, loneliness, confusion, and most of all fear. He wasn't discounting how dangerous that girl was, but when he looked at her he had never seen a threat.

He had seen a broken and terrified girl, one that had been exposed to unspeakable horrors and had her childhood stripped away before she was ever ready to start growing up.

Beneath all that pain she was still a child and Clint refused to just abandon her to the cold government system, they would only hurt her further. She didn't need the government, she needed someone who cared enough to push past those walls and be a friend.

So that was exactly what he was going to try and be for her.

* * *

Bryanna was sitting on the floor next to the bookshelf, immersed in the word of the Princess and the Frog. The novel was really enjoyable, with funny bits and hints of romance. She was right in the middle of the book when she heard the sound of the door lock system releasing.

She looked up in surprise only to let out a grumble when she saw the blonde man from the other day walk into the room with a bag.

"You again? What do you want this time?" Bryanna sighed.

The man glanced at her, stepping out of the way and allowing the door to close behind him.

"I never introduced myself properly last time we met, I'm Clint. The agents here call me Hawkeye because I can shoot a fart bomb arrow through Coulson's office window from hundreds of feet away and vanish without him ever seeing me." His statement was followed by an infectious grin and Bryanna blinked slowly.

"I'm still not going to give you information." Was all she could think to say.

"Eh, I don't want information. I came here for a different reason." Was his dismissive reply as he strolled over to her table and set the bag down on it.

She watched in bemusement and slight irritation as the man, Clint, opened his back to withdraw a laptop which he set out before reaching back into his bag and pulling out several DVD cases.

"What are you-"

"I figured that with being cooped up in this room all the time you must be getting pretty stircrazy so I thought I'd bring some movies that you probably haven't seen yet with me. Some cartoons, some hilarious live action comedies, perfect to shake the boredom."

He proceeded to boot up the laptop and set everything up while Bryanna stared at him, slightly disbelieving. The scene in front of her made no sense, she was in essence a prisoner of the government, so why on earth was he doing this?

"Go ahead and take a seat, I put in a request for movie food to be delivered so we should receive snacks within the hour." Clint said cheerfully as the sound of the opening score for the movie he had put on started.

He grabbed a plastic chair and pulled it up near the bed as Bryanna cautiously lowered herself down onto the mattress at the head end, eying Clint warily as she sat crosslegged and looked over at the computer screen while the opening credits for the movie began to roll.

"What's this one called?"

He grinned.

"You're gonna love this one. It's called Parent Trap."

* * *

Bryanna stared apathetically at the ceiling while she repeatedly tossed a crumpled piece of paper up in the air and caught it. While she was laying there she heard the sound of the door opening, making her sit up with hidden excitement in her eyes.

Clint had come quite a few times now, bringing movies of all kinds for her to watch. He would just sit there in the plastic chair, answering any questions she had and coming up with funny quips that forced Bryanna to actually put effort into not smiling. She was...comfortable around him now. He never asked for information or pressed her to share her experiences. He never commented on the thin white scars along her arms that were slowly beginning to fade, or the bad scarring on her neck. He just watched movies with her.

"Bryanna, you have several visitors." Her guard announced before stepping out of the way.

Her excitement vanished when she saw Agent Coulson enter the room accompanied by an unarmed man. She studied the newcomer for a moment, she recognized him somehow.

"Who is this and why is he here?" Bryanna gestured towards the newcomer.

Agent Coulson nodded to the stranger and the man stepped forward hesitantly, clearly leery of her.

"I came because I wanted to see for myself that you were alright. And I wanted to thank you."

"Thank me? For what?" Bryanna asked in bafflement.

"For not killing me."

Bryanna's mouth opened, then closed as she realized who the man was.

"You're the scientist! The one that they wanted me to eliminate!" She gasped, stepping towards him.

He flinched back and glanced nervously to the side before turning back to her.

"Yes. Uh, except I'm not actually a scientist."

Bryanna stilled.

"...What?"

The man nodded and let out a long breath, holding out a hand towards her to shake.

"I'm Agent Christian, we created my scientist character to draw out the terrorists who we now know as HYDRA. I purposely let them capture me and put up as big a fight as possible to keep them distracted and focused on me instead of on the strange activity going on around the general area while Agent Coulson prepared his teams to take down that organization. We hadn't planned for the fact that they would lose their patience to quickly and have me killed, but because you refused to kill me I'm able to go home to my parents and girlfriend. Thank you."

She stood stiffly, staring at him with wide eyes as she took in how healthy and whole he looked.

"So that whole thing was fake." She gritted out, her hands curling into fists when the man nodded.

"What did they do to you before "the good guys" arrived?" She snapped, looking him over again.

"Nothing. It was like they had forgotten I was in the cell." Was the simple reply.

Bryanna's muscles trembled and her breathing became ragged as she absorbed his words. Her head dropped hiding her expression.

"Are you alright?"

This had all been one big joke. He had never been a doctor, he had no plans and research to save the world, he was a fraud. They hadn't hurt him, he had remains untouched in his cozy little cell while she had endured hell several doors over.

"This was all a big game..." She whispered, rage bubbling up in her.

"Bry-"

"GET OUT!"

Her roar echoed off the walls as her head shot up, revealing furious tears in her eyes as the darkness in her eyes churched with a life of their own. Agent Christian gave a gasp and scuttled back as shadows began to form around her.

"I suffered through two and a half days of absolute agony FOR NOTHING! Do you have any idea the hell I've been through?!" Bryanna reached up and ripped down on the high collar of her shirt, allowing him to see the burn scarring all around her neck.

"Do you know what this is?! This is scarring from an electrical collar! They put me through a round of shocks every ten minutes and used that collar so much that it overheated and burnt me so bad that I'll have scarring for the rest of my life! And the shocks weren't enough, they had to take their knives to me too! They LAUGHED at my pain, pain I received for not just killing you when I was told to! You can NEVER understand the hell you put me through." Bryanna screamed, throwing her arms out and with a violent swipe using her shadows to send the books on her shelf flying towards him.

"You should have been the one they tortured! He was right, no one is worth the suffering I went through. I WISH I HAD JUST KILLED YOU!"

Her scream was punctuated by the plastic chair hurtling through the air towards them, just missing them by inches as Agent Coulson shoved them both down. When the chair smashed against the wall Coulson jumped to his feet and dragged the shaken Agent Christian to his feet, the door to the cell being flung open as the two agents raced out, a feral scream of anger following them as the second chair was flung towards them. The door to her room slammed shut just in time, plastic chair hitting hard metal and breaking into pieces.

Bryanna dropped to her knees in the middle of her floor, the contents of the room thrown everywhere by her shadows. She buried her face in her hands, forcing the tears away and struggling to control her ragged breathing.

She had suffered so much, and it was all for nothing.

* * *

Bryanna's face was squished up against the bars in the open air window between her room and the hallway outside. She had pressed her face as far through as she could and was doing her best to peer sideways at the entrance to the hallway.

The guard that stood over her room kept on shooting her strange glances.

"He might not be able to come today, he does have a job here you know. You're wasting time just standing there, it's already been a half hour of you standing with your face pressed to the bars and it's getting creepy." He finally said.

Bryanna shot the man a stubborn look.

"Clint promised that he'd come today after lunch. I'm just waiting for him."

"He's visited you plenty of times already and most adults have better things to do then hang out with a kid just because she's bored. Stop expecting him to be your playmate."

She glared at the guard and he twitched before turning away. They were all afraid of her with her power, Agent Coulson and Fury weren't afraid of her like the others but they always had armed so she knew they were still nervous of her power. The only one that didn't seem to be afraid of her was Clint.

"Shut up." She growled and smirked when the guard flinched.

As time passed her smile faded altogether as Clint still didn't show. Maybe the guard was right, maybe he-

"Is Bryanna available for visitors?"

At the sound of his voice coming distantly she perked up, pressing her face tighter as she tried to see the end of the hall.

"Hi Clint!" She called.

There was a laugh as he entered her field of vision and saw her squished face.

"Hey kiddo." He greeted, approaching as Bryanna moved out of the way of the door.

The door opened and she stuck her tongue out at the guard behind Clint in childish retaliation. The guard rolled his eyes as he closed the door behind Clint.

"You aren't carrying the movie bag." Bryanna observed, realizing that he was missing the usual bag he brought with him.

"Nope, I figured that this time we could play cards." He answered, crossing over to the table before stopping and staring down at the chairs for a moment.

"Your chairs are different this time."

"Yeah, I broke them." Bryanna admitted before taking a seat in the chair across from Clint.

At her words he raised his brow.

"You broke the chairs? Why? Didn't like the colour?"

Bryanna couldn't help but grin at that one.

"Nope, I broke them because I threw them at Agent Christian's head and he dodged."

That startled a laugh out of Clint as he opened the card box and started shuffling.

"Somehow I'm not surprised that was your reaction. I warned him to just leave you be, but he can be a bit stubborn. He thought maybe it would help to see the life you had saved rather then just knowing about-..." Was his responses, the man trailing off although they both knew what the end of his statement would be.

She blinked.

"You aren't going to tell me how inappropriate my behaviour was?" She asked, only half joking.

"Why would I? You've probably already heard it plenty. Up to playing slapjack?"

Bryanna nodded and he started dealing cards.

"Do you get in trouble for not working and instead coming and hanging out here?" Bryanna suddenly questioned.

"Nope, I'm on my break so no trouble for me." He said cheerfully as he finished dealing out the cards. "Ready to play?"

She didn't respond and he looked up, opening his mouth to speak but stopping abruptly.

"You okay? You have a strange expression on your face."

"Do you get extra long breaks?" Bryanna asked quietly.

He gave a shake of his head.

"No, why do you ask?"

"No reason. Yeah, I'm ready to play."

They started and Bryanna enjoyed her game with Clint, but as she played she was only half focused on the game in front of her. She was still trying to wrap her mind around the knowledge that Clint was giving up his break to hang out with her and watch movies or play games.

Why would he do that for her.

* * *

Bryanna stood bending the shadows around her, showing what she could do with the shadows. Agent Coulson and Mr Fury both stood behind a glass wall watching her. They told her that they didn't need anything special, they just needed her to show them how she was able to control the shadows.

They claimed that it was for her medical records and to better understand how they altered her genetics in such a way that gave her such power.

Bryanna had hesitated at first, dreading the chance that they could find out she wasn't fully human anymore. She didn't want to be killed because she was a freak, and HYDRA had taught her that if the people outside knew what he was that they would want her dead. There was no place for a monster hybrid.

But over time they had convinced, telling her that her showing a little more of her power to them wouldn't change anything. They already knew that she had it, and that she was powerful enough to kill someone with it and not ever have to touch her victim. This was merely a demonstration.

So Bryanna gave in, going into the room and summoning the shadows that coiled and wrapped around her. She almost danced around the room, her eyes bright and her arms bending and weaving through the air as she commanded the shadows to follow her movements.

She may be only be in a small room doing a pointless demonstration, but for the first time Bryanna was able to truly play with the shadows under her command. Before she only used her power in training and when on missions, now she was able to freely play.

She made a lifting movement accidentally with her hands and yelped when the shadows lifted her right off the ground before releasing her again and causing her to fall backwards onto the floor and land on her butt.

"Miss Stark, are you alright?" Agent Coulson's voice echoed through the speaker into the room and she nodded with a half laugh.

"Can I try that again?" She asked.

"That hadn't happened before?"

"Nope!"

"Go ahead then. Just be careful." Agent Coulson said.

Bryanna grinned getting the shadows to move around her before pushing up with her hands and causing herself to go shooting into the air before falling ungracefully. She just barely managed to catch herself with shadows before she hit the floor. As she lay in the shadow hammock a truly brilliant idea came to her and with a push upwards she found herself bouncing high into the air with a delighted laugh.

"Sweet!" She cheered as she landed in the shadows just in time to fling herself into the air.

She hadn't had this much fun when it came to being active in ages. She bounced herself all over the room and even managed to execute a in-air summersault with one of her bounces. Eventually she grew tired and had the shadows float her down the the ground before depositing her gently on the floor as she breathed hard.

"That was awesome! I think I'm done though." She said breathlessly.

The door opened and Agent Coulson entered with Mr Fury, for once alone and without the armed guards that usually stayed with them when they were talking to Bryanna. Agent Coulson had a small smile on his face as he looked down at where she was sprawled on the ground and there was a twinkle of amusement in Mr Fury's eye.

"You have fun?"

Bryanna let out a laugh, eyes sparkling. It felt like a weight had just been lifted off her shoulders today.

"Yeah, that was awesome!"

* * *

So what did you think? Reviews are welcome! Flames shall be laughed at, posted for others to laugh at, and ignored as I continue the story.


	25. Revenge

Hello all!

And so I present the final chapter of this update cycle:)

Enjoy!

* * *

 **Revenge**

* * *

Bryanna was just coming out of her small bathroom when she heard low voices outside. Her brows furrowed and she strained her ears when she realized that they were purposely keeping their voices down to prevent her from hearing.

Curious about what they were hiding she dropped down and crawled to the door, rising onto her knees so that she was still out of sight but could hear what they were saying.

"...he really is going to get off easier?" Her guard questioned.

"The only evidence they have on him is what Agent Christian gave them. The few people we grabbed in the raid aren't enough, they either don't know anything or they are far better at holding out then anticipated. One even committed suicide, the one that supposedly was giving away the most." An unknown voice murmured.

"What are they going to charge him with then?"

"He can be charged for torturing. They found a remote for the electric collar on the girl's neck in his pocket, and while the chatty agent was still alive he admitted that he had aided Maximov in the several day torturing spree that took place before we busted them. He can also be charged with kidnapping charges, and abuse charges. Hopefully they can put him away for a long time, it just depends on the kind of lawyer he can find to represent him."

"I wish they could put him six feet under. That man is a twisted sick individual." The guard muttered, the other stranger murmuring his ascent before leaving.

Bryanna hurried away from the door, crossing her room and curling up in the corner of her room on the floor, arms wrapped around herself as she stared distantly out the window. Her breathing was erratic, how could the doctor get off after everything he had done to her?! Why?!

Her muscles trembled from how tight they had become, her jaw working as she gestated blankly ahead. There had to be a way to make that bastard pay, after everything she had gone through there was no way she was going to sit back while they put him through the justice system. After everything he did to her he deserved nothing less then death. She wished he would be given the death sentence, and that she could be there when he died.

In fact, she wished she could kill him herself.

That thought played through the back of her mind for a while, Bryanna drifting in and out of sleep in her corner. Then it hit her.

Bryanna sat upright, wide eyed as the realization of what she could do hit her. She didn't have to rely on the faulty justice system, she didn't have to sit back and watch that monster go free.

Not if she took care of him herself.

Instantly she was up and moving, grabbing a piece of blank paper and a crayon from her shelf and sitting down at the table. She hunched over her paper, drawing furiously as she worked out a map of all the places she had been in SHIELD. She hadn't been in the prison block, but she knew the general idea of where it was, and she could easily get there with the help of any assistants she came across. It took her seconds to memorize her beginning route from the sketch she had made before crumpling the paper and shoving it under her mattress.

She glanced at the door to her room and gave an inaudible sigh of relief. She had the wimpy guard on shift right now, he was clearly terrified of her.

Then she made her way to the door, summoning a tendril of shadows and taking a deep breath before slipping it through the bars in the door and slapping it overtop of his mouth to silence him. His eyes went wide and horrified and she pulled him right up the the bars on her door window.

"You are going to key in the security code and let me out of here. You play games, or alert anyone and I kill you. Understood?"

He nodded mutely and she pointed to the keypad, watching him press in his code with shaking hands. She heard the door unlock and Bryanna pushed it open, grabbing his collar and dragging him into the room. Glancing around the hall she grabbed the closest book and stuck it in the doorway to keep it from closing as she turned back to the terrified guard.

"I wasn't really going to kill you, please don't freak out. I just needed you to let me out, I can't risk the doctor getting off free. I have to kill him." She hissed, feeling pity for the man bound by her shadows.

She really wasn't going to kill him, he wasn't a bad person. And she refused to become the monster that HYDRA wanted her to be, where she killed senselessly.

"I'm going to knock you out, but someone will find you." She whispered, pressing her shadows to the man's temple and closing her eyes to concentrate. Moments later he slumped, unconscious in her grip.

Bryanna lowered him to the ground before running to the door, grabbing the book and tossing it out of the way as she pushed through the door and allowed it to close behind her, locking automatically.

The moment the door closed Bryanna was sprinting down the hall, following the map in her mind as she veered around corners and raced through empty hallways. When she heard someone approaching she dodged sideways into a closet, holding the door shut and slowing her breathing as she waited for the person to pass. As soon as the footsteps had faded altogether she was out and running again. She was forced to hide several times a she made her way down and through the halls.

Once she had reached the point where she didn't have a clue which way to go next she began to guess, which hallways had the most activity marks and the kinds of items along the sides of the hallway. A few obscure signs on the wall confirmed Bryanna's suspicions on where she needed to go and soon she was off again, working her way through the halls. It didn't take her long to find the stairs that led down to the prison level.

Every part of her mind was freaking out, but Bryanna's eyes were cold and focused. She had been trained for this, to get in and make a kill. She had been trained to use this for HYDRA, but it was the easiest thing she had done yet to turn it against the doctor, and it only motivated her more to get to him.

She didn't even bother with the stairs, she simply created a shadow board that she slid down the stairs on. She could feel a security camera the closer she got and with a determined look she reached with her shadows, killing them before they ever saw her. Camera after camera, she killed them easily. Because they hadn't seen her she knew that it would give her a better chance to make it down and do what she needed before they caught on that it wasn't just a technological short-out.

She rounded the corner in the staircase and ran towards the door, thrusting out a hand and grabbing the guard with her shadows, silencing the man and wrestling him to the locking system. She grabbed his hand and ripped the glove off before forcibly pressing it to the scanner that unlocked the door, giving a slight sigh of relief when it flashed green and the door opened. She glanced over his belt before stopping on a leather pouch that when opened had a series of key cards.

"For the cells." She murmured to herself, grabbing them out of the pouch then repeating the process of knocking the guard unconscious and dropped him to the floor before stepping into the prison.

She didn't even acknowledge the prisoners that called out to her, sparing only a few glares as she rushed to the back of the prison.

Then she saw him.

Doctor Maximov was sitting on his bunk, gazing down at his hands distantly when she came to a stop in front of him.

"Come to interrogate me more?" Was his dry question, not even bothering to look up as he asked it.

She flipped through the cards and grabbed the ones with his cell number on it, swiping it through and unlocking the cell before shoving that card and all the others into the pocket of her pants.

When the cell door opened and she stepped inside noiselessly the doctor looked up with a tired expression only for his eyes to widen when he saw Bryanna standing there.

"Project Nyx?!"

She didn't answer, letting the cell clang shut behind her as she took a step forward towards him. A massive grin had sprung to life on his face as he stood to his feet.

"You've come to get me. Good girl, we'll leave and contact the Asset with his handlers. They'll get us to where we can start over." He said lowly, making Bryanna's eyes narrow slightly.

"Free you. Do you really think that I'd free you after everything you've done?"

He snorted.

"You serve HYDRA Project Nyx, not your own worthless little self. You will do as I say, or once this is over you will regret it. I'm even willing to forgive your failure to kill that false scientist if you get me out of here." His words dripped with distain and his tone was patronizing.

Bryanna let out a almost hysterical sounding bark of laughter, her eyes glittering with an insane light as she prowled around him.

"Are you kidding me?! I'm finally free of your little hellhole, I never served you willingly! You think that after all the hell you have put me through, after every bruise, shock and slice that you've given me I'd come crawling back to you?"

"You are HYDRA property! Everything you have right now I gave to you! You owe me your very existence! Without me, without HYDRA, you never would have even been provided with the opportunity to leave your family and become part of he greater good! We did anything it took to get our hands on you, and because of HYDRA, you were free to come with us and receive the greatest power known to mankind!" Doctor Maximov snarled.

He spoke as if he was taking credit for the death of her parents. How dare he spew such lies?! Taking credit for the tragedy! She had given them so much, she refused to even acknowledge his words.

"I OWE YOU NOTHING! You took EVERYTHING from me!" Bryanna screamed, her voice echoing around the cell and silencing all the other prisoners. "I was ripped out of my family, forcibly experimented on due to your sick ideas, tortured and broken down to the place where I was able to kill another person, and completely stripped of my identity as you turned me into a weapon for your games!"

Anger filled his face and he raised his arm, Bryanna almost flinching in response.

Almost.

Without meeting a beat she flattened her head and shoved it forward, a wall of shadows slamming into the doctor. The force sent him flying backwards, carrying him right off his feet and throwing him to the floor. Doctor Maximov gave a weak groan as Bryanna stalked towards him.

When she reached his side she reached down, hand closing around his throat and tightening as with the help of her shadows she lifted him into the air.

"You broke me and tried to rebuild me to that you could use me to control your base and the people inside. To you I wasn't human, you treated me like a worthless animal. Well I'm not an animal, and after enduring two years under you I'm finally free to do what I should have done right from the beginning, before you broke me down and made me believe I was helpless against you. So you know what? These shadows you gave me, the ones you're claiming ownership over, that's going to be the thing that kills you."

The doctor gagged as her grip tightened before trying to attack her. Bryanna gave a flick and watched the shadows wrap around his limbs, binding him.

"I am not your slave, I will not serve you. I AM NOT HYDRA!"

Her eyes littered with near-insanity and panic and she stared into his eyes, seeing the realization that he was going to lose his life for how he treated her clearly in his gaze.

There was no goodbye, no final ending moment, Bryanna simply forced her unthinned shadows beneath his skin without care for the pain she caused, reaching for the veins and nerves in the back of his neck that kept him alive. Then she met his gaze and tightened her grip on the nerves and chains, with no hesitation severing everything.

He died instantly, one single flash of agony in his eyes before they went dead. Bryanna released the Doctor's body, watching it drop limply to the ground.

The moment she heard the dull thump of his body on the ground Bryanna let out a barely heard whimper, staggering backwards and falling against the wall as her legs nearly gave out from under her. She had killed in cold blood, this hadn't been a mission or a job, she hadn't been forced into this, she had killed him out of personal vendetta.

"I'm okay, I'm okay... I had to kill him, he couldn't ever walk free. I had to do this."

Bryanna took several shaking breaths, trying to calm herself. Then there was a shout of shock and all attempts to force herself out of the headspace she was in were abandoned. Her head flew up and she found herself staring at two guards that had entered the prison while she was dealing with the doctor.

"You! The shadows girl!" One gasped, both of them readying their guns and aiming them at Bryanna.

"PUT YOUR HANDS UP!"

Any calm that Bryanna had achieved was gone in an instant as she seamlessly switched into flight mode. With a powerful swipe she sent the men flying through the air, landing eight cells away from her as she shot out of the doctor's cell and for the door. Behind her she heard the sound of one of the men using their radios.

"The girl escaped and killed the prisoner in cell 204! She's heading up the entrance back to the main headquarters!"

Bryanna cursed herself for not thinking to destroy any technology on the men as she ran, leaping over the body on the unconscious guard at the foot of the stairs, sprinting up the stairs and bolting down the hall towards the main intersection. She wasn't trying to get back to her room anymore, she needed to get the hell out of the government headquarters period!

"CODE BLUE CODE BLUE!"

The robotic call echoed through the halls as sirens began to go off, there were shouts coming from all directions. She was beside herself with terror, she was going to get hurt if they got to her she needed to get out!

She took a sudden left as she heard running steps coming from the right hallway, going full speed ahead as she desperately tried to rewrite her route.

"THERE SHE IS!"

Bryanna cast a glance over her shoulder only to let out a panicked cry as she saw what looked like an army of men in black gear running towards her with guns. Throwing out a forcefield of shadows at them to hopefully slow their progress Bryanna raced through the halls, dodging and leaping over anything in her way.

"Go, go, go, go." She muttered to herself, dropping to a crouch and sliding under a high up table that had been shoved into her path by someone hiding in one of the rooms.

As soon as she was out on the other side she was up again, running through the halls. Her eyes were wild and terror of what would happen to her if she was caught drove her. The Asset had been training her in case she was ever in a situation like this, but had left before the training could finish. She was relying on basic instinct, but that could only carry her so far.

She heard the sound of a gun being fired and with a cry dropped and rolled sideways into another hallway before taking off again. But as she rounded the corner her heart dropped through her shoes.

It was a dead end.

Bryanna's head whipped from the dead end to back down where she had come from, hearing the tromping boots getting closer. She desperately scanned the halls before her eyes landed on a door that shifted slightly.

"I'm sorry." She breathed before flinging the door open and lashing out with her shadows, grabbing onto an assistant that had been hiding inside.

The assistant screamed as Bryanna dragged her over, grabbing onto the woman and forcing her in front of Bryanna like a shield as she blocked the hallway in front of her with thin shadow.

The agents appeared just as the barrier went up, guns drawn only to freeze when they saw the shadows and Bryanna holding the assistant hostage.

"You come any closer and I kill her before blowing this part of the building sky-high!" Bryanna shouted, her voice pitchy.

There was a rumble as the agents hesitated, then in the front one stepped forward and removed the helmet.

"Miss Stark, this is going too far. We understand why you are refusing to share what happened to you, but holding innocent people hostage and knocking out agents so you can kill a suspect is so far outside of what even a child can get away with. You can by tried for what you did today, obstructing justice-"

"Obstructing justice?!"

Bryanna's half shriek cut off Agent Coulson and he paused, staring at her as hysterical laughter bubbled up in her chest.

"What justice?! I heard people talking! I know that you don't have enough to charge him with to really put him away for good! And what's worse, with a good enough lawyer he could get off easy, even after everything he's done. There was no justice to obstruct! He deserved to die for what he did, and the best you were going to give him was a jail sentence!"

Her voice cracked and tears blurred her vision but she forced it away. She would not appear weak, she would not let them hurt her. Her eyes danced across the ranks before settling on a familiar blond haired man, and her bottom lip trembled when she saw the look on Clint's face. Agent Coulson sighed, pulling her attention back to him as he began to speak.

"Miss Stark, we understand your motive, but the point still stands that you just killed a man-"

"And you haven't?! Can you look me in the eye and say that you have never been responsible for the death of a criminal? Or the death of an innocent through collateral damage?" Bryanna demanded, her grip around the assistant tightening. "Your people have blood on their hands just like I do! I'm not going to be punished just because I killed a evil criminal that deserved to die! He wasn't even a human, not inside. He was just a monster!"

Her words were illogical, but Bryanna didn't care. There was murmuring behind Agent Coulson, and Bryanna shifted to the right only to freeze when they all aimed their guns directly at her. The assistant with her let out a scream at the sight of the guns.

"Please don't make me do this, please don't make me do this." Bryanna mumbled, tears stinging in her eyes as she readied her shadows to start taking out the armed men and Agent Coulson.

Her eyes flitted across the line of agents one again, stopping on Clint when she saw him mouthing something. Her brows furrowed, and after a second she realized that he was repeating her own words. She saw his eyes widen and then flinched when a sharp bark could be heard echoing through the halls.

"Stop!"

Clint shoved out of line, striding towards Agent Coulson and her shadow barrier with long determined strides.

"Barton! What do you think you're doing?!" Mr Fury's voice came from behind the agents and Bryanna could just see the reflection of him storming towards the army of agents.

Clint's eyes never left hers as he spoke.

"Just listen to me, this is going to get us nowhere. We can't hurt her when she has her shadows, we're only driving her into a corner and then expecting her not to lash out. Just lower the guns!"

"Barton-" Agent Coulson started.

"Remember Romanoff, and how my hunch on that turned out." Clint responded cryptically, the words confusing Bryanna but seeming to make an impact on Agent Coulson who sighed and signalled behind him, causing the agents to lower their guns so that they were no longer trained on Bryanna.

Then Clint took a step forward, towards her barrier.

"Bryanna, stop this. If you hurt someone it will only get worse. We aren't going to harm you, or shoot you when you let down the barrier. We never wanted to hurt you, that's why we brought you here. I know this is hard, and right now you're terrified, but you have to think of what we've shown you so far. No one here has ever hurt you. You need to believe that we aren't going to hurt you now. Can you do that for me? Just drop the shield, you can always put it up if you feel in danger again."

Bryanna was almost hyperventilating as he slowly edged closer to the barrier.

"Please Bryanna, I don't want this to escalate more. You aren't a bad person, you don't just hurt and kill whoever. You're just scared, and rightly so. You've been through hell, but I promise that we won't do what HYDRA did to you. Just let down the barrier."

The shadows shimmered before the barrier vanished, wriggling wisps speeding away from where they had been joined together in the hallway to hover around her. Clint gave her a strained smile, slowly shifting closer with every slow step. He moved so that he was approaching from head on and Bryanna stiffened.

"I promise that I won't let them shoot you, I'm standing right in their path so they have to go through me to get to you. You don't need a hostage, just let the assistant go."

"You can easily dodge." Bryanna snapped, the shadows tightening around the woman.

"But I won't. Do you think you can trust that? I will not step out of the way, even if they threaten to shoot."

Bryanna's eyes shimmered with tears and she gave a gulp of air, the shadows slipping loose of he assistant as Bryanna shoved her away. The woman stumbled forward several steps before running towards the agents who once she reached them pulled her among their ranks and out of sight.

"Listen to me Bryanna, we will never do to you what HYDRA did. I know it's so hard to believe, you've been trained your whole life to follow those that hurt you and even now that your free you're so confused. I am guess the thoughts running through your mind; Who can you trust, Will they hurt you like HYDRA. Am I right on that?" His voice was gentle, Bryanna seeing a genuine concern and caring in his blue eyes.

"Y-yes." Bryanna whispered.

"I know. That's why I'm not asking you to trust the government . I'm not asking you to trust those agents, I'm not asking you to do anything the government asks. I'm not even asking you to trust Agent Coulson or Director Fury, although I hope you'll one day learn that you can trust them. I'm just asking you to believe me when I say that I will not hurt you. Can you do that?" He was so close to her now, only a few feet away.

Bryanna's whole body began to shake and the shadows floating around started to slowly wrap around her, almost as if to comfort her. The tears in her eyes slowly began to escape, slipping free and sliding down her cheeks. She was completely and utterly overwhelmed.

"I don't know...I don't know if I can believe you." She whispered, licking the tears off her lips.

"I get that. I'm not asking you to make a commitment to believe everything I say, or trust me unconditionally. I'm just asking you to believe me just for right now, and trust that when I say I'm not going to hurt you that I really mean it."

Finally Clint stopped directly in front of her, his features were completely open. He wasn't trying to hide his thoughts, there was no wall thrown up that guarded his eyes and face. He realization that he was willing to be so open to her rocked Bryanna to her core. Even The Asset had always had blank eyes, never showing his true thoughts, and he had known her for longer then Clint.

"Do you think you can do that for me right now, trust that I won't hurt you?" He asked again, tone slow and careful as he offered his hand.

Bryanna glanced between him and the agents behind them, Agent Phil watching with an unreadable expression.

Trust was dangerous, it could be twisted and used to destroy you from the inside out. Trust got you killed, it got you betrayed.

But not always. Bryanna had trusted her brother and he had never broken that trust. Bryanna had trusted The Asset, and he had never hurt her or broken her trust. She had even be able to share her real name with him. Could she risk trusting Clint?

She reached out with her shadows, allowing thin tendrils to reach out to Clint and brush his arms. He flinched at the sensation, but instead of reacting and pulling away he continued to meet her eyes with a steady gaze of his own. Eventually the shadows fell away and Bryanna felt herself sag.

"Alright. I-...I'll believe you."

Letting out a shuddering breath, Bryanna slowly reached out and placed her hand in his, closing her eyes as his larger calloused one closed over hers gently. Clint let out a long and relieved sigh before speaking softly in response.

"Thank you."

* * *

So what did you think? Reviews are welcome! Flames shall be laughed at, posted for others to laugh at, and ignored as I continue the story.


	26. Breaking the News

Hello all!

I am pleased to now bring you the next set of updates. We're getting incredibly close to ending this first volume and beginning the second one which will officially bring us to the movie storylines! I truly hope you are all enjoying this so far and that you like these next updates:)

Enjoy!

* * *

 **Breaking the News**

* * *

Tony Stark leaned over the engine of one of his new projects, humming along to his AC/DC song while he tinkered. He was enjoying the quiet of the garage when the door opened and the click of heeled shoes approached his happy place.

"Jarvis, turn down the music will you?" Pepper's voice sounded from behind him.

Tony let out a dramatic sigh and turned to face her, bracing himself on his car.

"Pep, the only time you ever come down here is when it's business and as much as I like seeing your pretty little face, you are interrupting me time!"

"Tony, there's someone here to see you. He's some sort of high level government agent, says he deals with international terrorist activity and something has come up that he needs to discuss with you."

Tony raised a brow and set down his tools.

"Terrorist activity? Well that's certainly interesting, your interruption is forgiven." He commented, quickly washing his hands in the nearby sink and grabbing a jacket from off the rack near his door to pull over his muscle shirt.

"Did he give a name?"

"Yes, he introduced himself as Agent Phil Coulson." Pepper informed him as they took the elevator up.

She led him to the front room where the government dude was waiting.

"Welcome to my abode, Agent. What can I do for you?" He asked easily, swaggering down the hall with the agent following close behind.

"Mr Stark-"

"Just Tony will be fine, Mr Stark was my father."

"...of course. Now, something very urgent has come up that needs to be discussed with you. I know that this will be extremely difficult to process, and any questions you might have I will do my utmost best to answer." Agent Phil Coulson said as he followed Tony into the living room.

Tony raised a brow at the level of seriousness in the man's tone.

"Well, out with it then. What's this super important info I need to know?"

The agent glanced carefully at Pepper before looking back to Tony.

"Perhaps this is a conversation best held privately." Was his answer.

"Anything you say to me can be said to Pepper. She handles all that stuff anyway, so she'll know about it soon enough as it is. Just get it out there already."

The man hesitated before giving a crisp nod.

"Please understand that what I am about to say to you cannot under any circumstances leave the three of us. In time it may be released to general public knowledge, but for the time being this situation is not one we want in the media." Agent Phil started, "Also, before I explain anything it may be best for you to take a seat Tony."

He blinked at the man's words. Take a seat? He snorted, what kind of wilting flower did this guy take him for? But none the less, he followed his direction, strolling over to a chair set by the window and mockingly taking a seat before twirling his hand.

"Well I'm sitting down, now by all means please do share this earth shattering information."

The man nodded, carrying a briefcase over to a low coffee table and setting it down to pull out a laptop.

"Do either of you remember about hearing about the bust made on a single cel terrorist organization that was attempting to create a web of criminals through America that took place several months ago? They had an underground base that was blown up, and there managed to be several arrests of members of that terrorist organization, as well as a long term captive that was rescued."

Tony thought for a moment, glancing over at his wall and calling out to Jarvis.

"Hey Jarvis, that actually sounds familiar. What articles did I hear about?"

"Several different articles, all sharing little information on the attack other then one notable fact, they were not aware of the captive prior to the crackdown and once they did rescue the captive it was released that they were only a minor and thus no information about them could be released at that time, aside from that the captive had needed extensive medical care." Jarvis reported, Tony humming in acknowledgment.

"Thanks buddy. Alright, so I know about this terrorist thing, so what's the special info?"

Agent Phil glanced over at him while the man typed quickly, computer screen turned away.

"We did DNA tests on the teen who had been held captive, a 14 year old girl. When the results came back we were startled to say the least, that young woman was supposed to have died years ago. There is no easy way to break this, so I will say it as is. But I must warn you, this will come as a very large shock."

Tony was starting to get edgy, he didn't know what was up with this guy and his info but he really just needed to get it out.

"Cut to the chase already, who is she and what does she have to do with me?"

The agents gaze was intense and the man straightened fully before speaking.

"According to out tests the young woman we rescued is your supposed dead sister, Bryanna."

Silence.

Complete and utter silence.

"B-but that's impossible! I read the articles, she died in a fire six years ago!" Tony distantly heard Pepper cry.

He sat there rigidly, gripping the arm rests in a crushing grip as he gazed blankly ahead of him. His mind was a whirlwind, stories and reports flooding him of all the times they covered the story of her death. The look of the small, empty casket that they had lowered into the ground next to his parents grave. The single box hidden in the back of his closet holding the only physical memories of her he had left. Everything in him screamed that the agent was lying, that it was impossible for his sister to have survived. He would know, he had spent over a year searching everywhere for any trace of her, a small illogical part of him reminding him that they had never found the body which meant that there was still a small chance she hadn't died in the fire.

"Tony, Tony are you alright?"

That agent wasn't lying. He knew it beyond a shadow of a doubt, this wasn't a joke or a prank. Somehow, his sister was alive.

There were so many thoughts rampaging through his mind like an out of control heard of elephants that he was at a loss. So he did the stark patented thing, he let his mouth carry on a separate conversation from his mind.

"So, am I going to get charged for her medical bill? Cause I would kind of think this one is on the government. It is their fault she was held captive by the terrorists after all seeing as you're supposed to prevent the threat before it happens. Isn't that how preventative measures are supposed to work? Blow them up before they do you?"

Pepper gaped at him, his flippant response shocking both her and the agent. Tony shrugged and tried to stand, only to find that his legs refused to work for him and forcing him to drop back down into the chair.

"Tony, you sister that you thought was dead was just found alive, and the only thing you can ask is whether you have to pay for her medical bill?!" Pepper cried.

"It is a reasonable question, you gotta admit." Tony commented before looking over at the agent. "How exactly did this happen? My sister has been presumed dead for over six years, how did your people that are trained in fighting terrorists, take six years to find her?! Is your training really this incompetent?"

Then with a big breath Tony stood, his legs still shaking but now able to hold him up as he crossed his arms.

"And another thing, this raid happened months ago, the articles talking about her being a minor coming out months ago. How did it take you guys this long to contact me?! That's my sister, she's the only living family I have left, and yet you just forgot to contact me to let me know that "hey, Bryanna isn't dead after all! Surprise!" What kind of operation is this?!"

Agent Phil held up his hands in a calming gesture.

"Please sit down, I can explain everything. In fact, I think we should all sit down. This isn't a easy and quick explanation. What few details I can share will not be easy to hear, your sister has been through more then most adults have been."

Tony snorted and sat down stiffly in his seat, eyes narrowed.

"Well you had better give me some sort of explanation, I want to know exactly what happened and why."

Agent Phil sighed, taking a seat across from Tony while Pepper sat to Tony's right. The genius glared at the agent, posture challenging.

"I'm afraid we don't have a how for you. We are still trying to find this out right now, but Bryanna currently refuses to speak about what took place. The horrors she went through have greatly traumatized her, and she has currently been unable to open up on what took place. As for the why, that also is unclear until we can learn how. The only thing we do know, is that she was held captive as a human experiment."

The agents words hit him like a punch in the gut, Tony leaning forward as his mouth hung open.

"Human experiment?!" He squeezed out, eyes widening.

The agent nodded slowly, sympathy in his face.

"She was injected with some sort of serum by the terrorists, it has granted her some sort of unusual ability. We don't know how long ago this experiment took place."

"I want to see her, when can we meet?" Tony demanded.

"I'm afraid any outside visitors aren't able to see her right now-" Agent Phil started only to be abruptly cut off.

"I'm her brother! Not some strange visitor! Give me one good reason why I can't see her!" Tony snapped, anger filling his face.

"I can give you several. You need to understand, after what Bryanna went through she is suffering from extreme PTSD. When we brought her in she was erratic and aggressive in her behaviour, even lashing out violently. Recently she had an episode where she broke out of the room she has been living in, killed one of our prisoners from the terrorists, hospitalized several of our agents, and permanently damaged some of our technology."

Tony's jaw dropped and he gave a harsh shake of his head.

"My sister isn't a killer. You think I'm going to believe this BS?!"

Phil said nothing, merely grabbing his computer screen and spinning the screen to face Tony. On the screen was a picture, one that he recognized instantly.

"That's Bryanna..." Tony murmured, studying the photo of the young teen girl.

The photo made his stomach clench, joy at seeing his sister alive being rivalled by the shock of seeing what she looked like now. Pepper came up behind him, the two of them staring at the photo of the detached teen. The choppy cut looked nothing like the waist length hair that Bryanna used to have, just barely brushing her neck that upon closer inspection was ringed in what looked like raised scar tissue.

"What happened to her neck?"

"She was wearing a shock collar that was overused by the terrorists. The collar then overheated and burned her neck." Agent Phil answered, Tony flinching as he continued to assess the photo.

Although she was thin, Tony could easily see defined muscles in her arms and shoulders. Her posture was defensive and her shoulders tense. Bryanna's expression was blank, but her eyes were filled with anger and pain.

"Oh Tony, her eyes look...shattered." Pepper breathed, her tone pained.

Shattered was the perfect expression. His sisters eyes looked like shattered glass.

"Would you like to see security footage of her rampage?" Agent Phil questioned.

"I've seen enough. I believe you." He finally rasped, pushing the computer away.

He was shaken to his core by that photo. His sister looked nothing like the girl he knew six years ago. She had looked dangerous, like all it would take was one little thing to set her off and Bryanna would explode in a big way.

"Why are you bothering to show me this? If I can't even see her, if she's so far gone that it would be dangerous for her own brother to be around her, what's the point in telling me now?" He finally asked, staring down at his hands.

"I'm telling you this now because she isn't completely gone. Tony, you have to understand that after what she's gone through her healing process is taking an extremely long time. She's not in a good place right now, but she's slowly and surely making her way towards a good place mentally. We had been trying to find a way to connect with her and our attempts hadn't gone well. But recently the agent that actually got her out of that terrorist base decided to try and be a friend to your sister, playing games and watching movies with her to provide Bryanna with someone to talk to that wasn't hounding her on behalf of the government. She's been really doing well under that, he was actually the one that ended the rampage because she's grown to trust him."

Tony looked up at hearing that.

"Someone has managed to connect with her?"

"Yes. So far he's the only one she'll trust enough to be friendly around. We're slowly starting to see the kid in her make a careful reemergence. Progress is being made, and we're hoping that it won't be much longer before she can start being reintroduced to pieces of her old life in person. That brings me to why I'm her today. We don't believe she is ready for face to face interaction with her old life yet, however we do believe that she's ready for something a little more less all encompassing. We were hoping that you would be willing to exchange letters with her, allowing her to slowly grow accustom to having conversations with her brother again even if it's just on paper. Would you be willing to do this?"

"Absolutely. When do I start?"

The agent allowed a small smile.

"If you could pen some sort of small letter today that we can give to her that would be greatly appreciated. Maybe include some sort of current photo that she could keep with her. I understand however if you need some time to think this over, the knowledge that Bryanna is actually alive would be a monumental shock."

"I don't need time to process, I just need a pen and paper. Jarvis, go through the database and find a decent picture of me without any alcohol in hand or girl's hanging around will ya?"

Agent Phil's brow quirked at his words and sighed.

"The fact that you have to specify that is concerning to say the least." The agent muttered. Tony shrugged and accepted the paper and pen that Pepper offered him, rolling the pen between his fingers for a moment before starting.

"Hey Bri..."

* * *

Boredom was the one word floating around Bryanna's brain. She was completely and utterly bored.

"Bryanna, you have a visitor."

She looked up with a smile only to sigh as Agent Coulson entered her room

"Let me guess, you have more questions for me?"

"No at all. I came here to deliver a letter actually." He said as he handed her a while envelope. Bryanna blinked down and flipped it over in her hands before staring back up at him in confusion.

"What's this?"

"It's a letter from your brother." He answered evenly.

Her eyes went wide and she stared down at the envelope before shooting off several rapidfire questions.

"From my brother? But how does he know that I'm alive?! Does he want to see me? Did you show him my power? Is he scared of me now? How did he send this letter?"

Agent Coulson held up a hand and Bryanna quieted instinctively.

"I spoke to him yesterday, I traveled out to where he lives currently to inform him of the fact that you are alive. No I didn't show him your power, however I did show him your photo. No he is not afraid of you, he's relieved your alive and angry that he's not able to see you face to face yet. He wrote this letter and gave it to me before I left, he's been given a address to send all future letters to. You can write replies and send them to him as well, so that you can get used to being in contact with your brother."

Bryanna gave a soft oh and stared down at the envelope.

"I'll leave you be to read that. I had him send a current picture of himself so that will also be included in the envelope."

She nodded and he rested a hand on her shoulder gently before leaving. Bryanna didn't even acknowledge the door closing behind the agent before she slowly walked over to the table and took a seat. She sat there just staring at the envelope for a long moment, nervous yet not understanding why.

Finally she reached into the envelope, slowly withdrawing a folded piece of paper. Putting the letter aside for the moment she shook the envelope out and watched as a photo fell out, Bryanna picking up the photo gently and staring down at it for a long time.

Her brother looked almost exactly like she remembered, just older. He still oozed attitude, his trademark smirk was fully in place and he was winking at whoever took the picture from where he was standing over a bunch of random parts on a table. After a moment Bryanna put the picture down gently and turned to the paper.

She opened the letter and felt a soft smile flit across her lips at the sight of the familiar writing. Swallowing a sudden lump in her throat she began to read.

" _Hey Bri,_

 _This is a rather new experience for me, for once I have no clue what to say. I literally just found out you were alive, and that was startling to say the least. I'm half expecting this to be some sort of joke, and I'm not even entirely sure you'll ever see this. Or that even if you did see it that you would care._

 _The agent called you erratic and aggressive, and to be honest I'm having a hard time picturing that in my mind, you write about as aggressive and scary as a puff ball kitten when I last saw you. But I know that things have changed, the photo the agent showed me was testament enough to that._

 _This is starting to look like the beginning of a letter you would write at some shrinks so I'm gonna cut this off now. They say that it's not a good idea for us to meet in person which in my mind is BS, they should have at least allowed us to talk over the phone or something. Probably would have made more sense then asking me to write some eloquent letter._

 _Hope you actually get this and read it instead of it just being tossed out of something. If you are reading this I miss having you around to annoy me, I've been missing that for six f*****g years (I'm supposed to make this letter "child friendly language", what kind of pansy do they take you for?!) Anyway, hope those stupid stick up the $$ (see preview reader people? Never swore in so many words, just did some creative placing of symbols, suck on that for a bit) agents let me see you soon, or I might have to wreak a little havoc on their system. Add to the damage you did with glee, good job on making life difficult for them by the way. Big brother approves._

 _No idea how to sign this off,_

 _Tony Stark"_


	27. Healing

Here is update two!

Enjoy~

* * *

 **Healing**

* * *

"YOU IDIOT!"

That hoarse shout started Bryanna who had been peacefully colouring in her new complex colouring book that Agent Phil had given to her as a fun gift. There was a thump and more shouts and she set it aside before rushing to her door to stare out.

"Stop, what are you doing?!" Her current guard shouted, making her flinch until she realized that he wasn't talking to her.

He was marching towards something just to the left and Bryanna shifted so that she could stare in that direction and her eyes widened when she realized what her guard was yelling about.

To the left of her the four rooms like hers and down the hall the agents had their sleeping quarters, and it seemed that two of the agents had gotten in some sort of fight. They were blustering, the two guys puffing their chests out and their faces were both red with anger.

"You freaking bastard! You could have shot me in practice today! Why the hell would you even aim in my general direction?!"

"It was a joke! The gun wasn't filled, the bullets were blanks!"

The other guy let out a snarl and lashed out, punching the "it's a joke" guy square in the face, sending the guy reeling backwards. Bryanna gasped, her jaw dropping as the punched guy let out a yell, lunging forward and attacking the man who punched him.

"You're gonna pay for that!"

The hall erupted into shouts and thumps as they went at each other, staggering the other all over the hall as they tussled and exchanged angry blows. The sounds of violence and angry shouts send Bryanna scuttling away from the door, hands clapped over her ears as memories of angry voices and the sounds of painful blows began to play on repeat in her mind. Outside the shouting only grew louder, new voices joining in the fray.

The thumps and threats grew closer, Bryanna's eyes going unfocused as the noises in the hall were overlaid with memories of before.

"I'LL MAKE YOU REGRET THIS!"

The shout was punctuated by a metal clang that rang through the room as someone slammed fully into her door. Letting out a whimper Bryanna fled her room, shoving blindly into the bathroom and running to her shower. She grabbed the faucet with trembling hands and reefed on it, the water shooting out the shower head instantly. The pulsing water hit the tiles in the shower stall, spraying Bryanna as she crawled into the shower stall fully clothed and huddled in the back corner.

She couldn't even discern the shouting and conflict outside from the memories in her mind, and as she clapped her hands tightly over her ears she found herself unable to drown out the memories.

With every thump outside she could almost feel the blows that were landed on her in HYDRA, every shout from outside echoing and angry threat or insult in her memories.

It was like reliving those moments all over again.

* * *

Clint whistled absently to himself as he headed up the stairs towards Bryanna's hall. He had a board game with him that he thought she might enjoy playing, and he was looking forward to just relaxing for a little bit and having some fun playing games with the girl.

As he approached the hall he began to hear the sounds of shouting and anger, his brows knit slightly and he sped up slightly.

"Hawkeye!"

Running towards him from the direction of Bryanna's room was one of the agents that had worked under him before. The woman's hair was wet and her uniform thrown on hastily.

"Sir! Two of the new agents got into a fight in the holding room hall right outside the girl's room! I heard the sound of a whimper and a slam while we were trying to get them to stop and get away from her door. Her guard is trying to break up the fight, but they refuse to listen."

Clint cursed under his breath and broke into a jog as he rounded the corner and came face to face with a full on fistfight.

"That's enough! Break it up!" He ordered, voice raised as he stormed down the hall towards the .

Neither agent acknowledged him and he reached out, grabbing the collar of one and ripping him off the other.

"I SAID THAT'S ENOUGH!"

His shout echoed through the hall and the two men fighting stilled while the crowd around fell silent. His eyes blazed with anger and he shoved the opponent of the agent he was holding onto back several steps before releasing the collar he was gripping.

"Sir-"

"I don't want to hear a word out of either of you." He hissed, causing both of them to both close their mouths.

"I have never seen this kind of blatant disregard to those around you in all the years I have worked with new trainees. Every single one of you has been made aware that we currently have the rescued captive from the terrorist organization living here at headquarters, and that you need to keep your voices down and take special care when in this hallway as we have a young teen that is recovering from an extremely traumatizing situation. And what do you do? Engage in a full on fist fight right outside her door! You will both be facing severe punishment for this."

One if the men that had been fighting let out a protest.

"But it was a mistake-"

"We don't make mistakes!" Clint snapped. "We create tragedies! In this line of work there is never a mistake that does not have detrimental consequences of some sort, mistakes mean lives lost, they are never simply excused and forgotten."

Neither men had anything to say to that and he pointed in the direction he had just come.

"Get downstairs and report to your superiors." He finally said with a sigh, watching the two men leave and the crowd disperse.

"Thanks Hawkeye." The guard on duty sighed, going over and unlocking the door for him.

Clint entered the room, noticing immediately that Bryanna was nowhere to be found. He glanced over at the bathroom door as the sounds of a shower being run could be heard and turned back to the female agent still waiting with the board game.

"I'm gonna have you check that one first. I'm not going to invade her privacy."

The woman nodded and set the game on Bryanna's bed before approaching the bathroom door, knocking gently and pushing it open.

"Bryanna?"

The door was pushed fully open and the agent made an alarmed sound.

"Oh!"

"What is it?" He asked tensely.

"Come in, she's fully dressed." The agent reported and Clint entered the bathroom to see Bryanna curled up in the corner of her shower with the water going full blast.

Her clothing was utterly soaked and clung to her while her wet hair was plastered limply on her head.

"Hey, let's get you out of here. You're gonna get sick." The agent said softly, reaching into the shower and gently tugging the shivering girl out with a flinch if her own when the water hit her arm. "Ooh that's cold."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to." Bryanna mumbled, almost incoherent.

Her eyes were glassy and unfocused and Clint reached over and grabbed a towel off the rack next to him, carefully wrapping it around her shoulders without touching her to much. Every small contact that he or the other agent made caused the girl to whimper and as she thick towel fully engulfed her Bryanna pulled away and stared at them distrustfully.

"I'm going to go get Phil." Clint finally said, watching Bryanna return to her room and curl up in her chair, still wrapped in the towel. "He needs to be made aware of her reaction to what happened today."

He reentered her room and started towards the door to leave when a thin voice called out behind him.

"Don't leave, don't leave me alone." Bryanna snapped, clearly attempting to sound demanding and in control but instead just sounding frail and like she was pleading.

He paused and nodded, looking over at the agent and quietly ordering to her to go get Phil while he crossed over to sit down next to her chair. Bryanna reached over and grabbed onto his shoulder, the fabric of his shit bunching in her grip.

"It's alright kiddo. I'm not abandoning you in here. Just take a deep breath, alright?"

She nodded and he leaned his head back against the wall while he waited, glancing up at Bryanna to see her face relax slightly. Smiling faintly he turned his attention to the door to watch for Phil.

As hard as this muse be for Bryanna, one good thing did come out of it. Her reaction showed that when dealing with panic attacks like this one, she didn't necessarily pose a danger to others with her shadows like they had feared.

Maybe she was making progress after all.

* * *

Phil Coulson entered Nick Fury's office with a sigh, the director looking over at him with a raised brow.

"I'm starting to think that if we can't get her out of headquarters and into a stable family environment that Bryanna is never going to recover. We can't control when incidences like that are going to happen, and she doesn't get near enough friendly contact with others. Being cooped up like that isn't good for her either, but we can't afford to let her loose with the sensitive information and equipment available to her in headquarters." Phil explained, placing a file with the report of Bryanna's panic attack down on the directors desk.

Nick Fury stepped up to the window and glanced outside with a contemplative expression on his face.

"I agree. Right up until now I wouldn't have, but ironically enough her panic attack was enough to change my mind. I was against placing her in a place that wasn't equipped to handle any threats she might present when in a mindset driven by fear, but after hearing the reports that even an agent she didn't know was able to make contact without being harmed leads me to believe that she is in more control of herself then the HYDRA prisoners initially led us to believe.

"Exactly. She's doing rather well, I think that it would be wise to start finding a place she can live outside of headquarters." Phil commented.

"Such as her brother?" Fury suggested idly. "He sent a separate letter for us with his last letter to Bryanna, in one of her previous letter Bryanna had told him that she lives in a government facility, and in his letter to us he informed us that the moment she was ready to be moved out of a facility he wanted her to come live with him. He said that the last time she ended up in a foster family he lost his sister for six years, he wasn't interested in running that risk a second time."

"Do you think that would be a wise idea?" Phil questioned.

Fury crossed his arms and looked to Phil.

"Probably the only wise placement idea there is. He's family and they had a close relationship to start with, and despite knowing how broken she is he still wants her back in his life. I've dealt with plenty of families that when their beloved family member comes back changed emotionally the way she is, they suddenly become very hands off. They can't handle even the thought of the person not being exactly the way they were before."

Phil nodded.

"Tony Stark is on a business trip that takes him out of country and he'll be gone for a little over a month, but one he returns we need to start setting up face to face meetings to get them reintroduced. The phone calls and letters that have been allowed so far have allowed a nice build up to when they finally meet in person and we can go from there."

"I'll let you know when we're ready to set up the face to face meeting. For now, I believe the next step is to start allowing her to go off base to help her begin to acclimatize to being back in society." Fury stated grabbing the file and flipping through it idly. "I'll leave organizing that and deciding who will escort her in your capable hands.

* * *

"Got it!" Bryanna called as she grinned triumphantly down at the hacky sacks she had caught in her latest attempt at amusing herself.

It was her weekly time to get outside, a guard would watch over her while she goofed around outside in a fenced in zone of the property. She would get to spend an hour outside every week and do whatever she felt like.

Letting out a sigh she dropped the hackysacks into the grass before flopping down next to them. Juggling was only fun for so long before one got sick of it. She lazed around for a moment before propping herself up on one elbow and looking around, brightening when she noticed a certain blond walking by talking with his companion

"Hey Clint!"

She jogged over as he turned and grinned at her, reaching over and ruffling her hair.

"Hey kiddo."

She squawked and batted his hand away before looking over at his companion. It was a beautiful woman with vibrant red hair and startlingly green eyes. She looked to be about 23-24.

"You must be Bryanna, it's nice to meet you. Clint's talked plenty about you." The woman said with a smile, offering a hand.

Bryanna ignored the offered hand and studied the woman intently.

"Yeah, I'm Bryanna. You must be the agent he mentioned working with." Bryanna deduced.

The woman's smile widened.

"Good guess, you're right. I'm Natasha, nice to meet you."

Bryanna nodded, and Clint cleared his throat.

"How much longer to you have outside?" He asked, pulling their attention back to him.

"About a half hour, why?"

Clint glanced over at Natasha and she gave a slight nod.

"How would you feel about a game of soccer? We can have teams of two, with Natasha and your guard." He suggested, gesturing to the guard behind her that was slowly coming over.

"Sure! HEY GUARD DUDE!" Bryanna hollered, causing the man to pick up his oace before coming to a stop in front of them.

"Yes?"

"We're playing soccer and you can be on the opposing team." Bryanna said calmly, smirking slightly as the guard rolled his eyes.

"You're like a child with your demands sometimes."

"Suck it up." Was her unfeeling reply. "How are we splitting up the teams?"

"Why don't we play guys vs girl's?" Natasha offered.

Bryanna grinned at the idea of going up against Clint.

"Hell yeah!"

They retrieved a ball that could be kicked around before engaging in a very serious game of "kick the ball that way!". Bryanna spent most of the game cackling into the wind after having stolen the ball from the guard again, Natasha and her passing it back and forth before making their shots.

She found herself having great fun with the red haired agent, the two of them running circles around the guard and Clint by the simple fact that he was on the same team as the guard. Bryanna got so excited that when one kick went high she instinctively reached up and sent her shadows flying into the air to swipe the ball away from their goal.

"Hey! That's totally cheating!" The guard called, Clint shouting his agreement.

"Too bad." Bryanna laughed, sticking her tongue out and dancing around until her eye caught Natasha's startled face.

Then she stopped, her hands dropping to her side as her eyes met the redheads. Natasha studied her for an extremely long moment and Bryanna tensed, waiting for the fear reaction or a sneer of disgust at the "freak".

But none of that came. Instead Natasha smirked, walking over and holding up her hand for a high five.

"Nice trick! They can't beat up girls, they might as well just give up."

Bryanna hesitated for a moment before slapping the offered hand with a small smile.

"Yeah! We win!"

* * *

Bryanna sat on the edge of the hospital bed with a self satisfied smirk, a sucker hanging out of her mouth as she pressed the cotton ball down on the needle mark in the crook of her arm.

Across the room two guards sat breathing heavy and rubbing various bruising on their legs while the harried looking nurse wrote on a clipboard.

"What happened here?"

She looked to the doorway to see Mr Fury in the doorway.

"What do you mean?" Bryanna asked innocently around her candy.

His eyes narrowed.

"I'm not a fool Bryanna, I know you did something. We don't have candy in the medical bay, how did you get that sucker and why do my agents look like they've just run a marathon?

Bryanna smirked.

"When it came time for the needles portion of this appointment I made an offer to the nurse. I would do my best not to freak out and cause problems for them, and in turn I would get a candy. They refused my offer, attempted to do things the hard way for about five minutes and then realized that my offer was more then reasonable. As for where it came from I don't have a clue, I just eat the candy I don't supply it."

Nick Fury let out a heavy sigh before accepting the clipboard and studying whatever was written on it.

"You all can leave, I need to speak with Miss Stark."

The nurse and the agents instantly left, looking far to relieved to leave Bryanna behind. She smiled sweetly and gave a little finger wave, the bratty gleam in her eye ruining the innocent image she was trying to portray.

"You just love to cause trouble don't you. First there was that prank with the shadow form walking around slapping people, didn't appreciate having to calm my operatives down from that one and convince them that the shadows weren't going to hurt them by the way. Then there was the way you took off on your guard when you were outside a couple days ago to hide and forced my highly trained operatives to spend two hours searching for a fourteen year old that's determined to act like a child."

"Don't forget the shadow snakes that I made and stuck under the lid of my food container." Bryanna piped up, kicking her feet against the bed as she studied the tall man in front of her.

"...oh of course we can't forget that. You put my entire kitchen out of commission as we searched the snakes that wreaked havoc only to vanish in a puff of shadows when someone caught them." He muttered. "What exactly do you think you're doing?! You are lucky we're keeping you here! The council is breathing down my neck to either imprison you completely or stick you in the foster system to be rid of you completely, and the more stunts you pull the harder it is to justify spending funding on you. What are you hoping to achieve with these stunts?"

"I'm not-" Bryanna started only for Mr Fury to cut her off.

"Don't waste my time with lies Stark. You might be able to even fool some of my operatives, but you cannot fool me. Currently even despite your childish behaviour I still hold respect for you, do me the courtesy of doing the same and levelling with me."

The childish smirk on her face melted away like snow on a window, the look in her eyes angry once again.

"Oh so I'm Stark now, already tired of the pleasantries Fury?" She snapped, emphasizing her use of his last name. "You want me to level with you! Fine. I'm so sick and tired of being held in my "room" and having you guys examine me like a bug on a microscope, I'm not one of your damned experiments! You say that you want to one day allow me to live outside of this compound?! That sure shows in how you keep trapped here. You keep me locked away in my room like a prisoner just the same as HYDRA did, I just have nicer amenities here then I did with HYDRA!"

Her angry words were met with a heavy sigh.

"We aren't trying to make things harder for you, nor are you a prisoner. You would be free to roam if it wasn't for the types of classified information we have in here, no civilian is free to roam and that includes you. As for not leaving the compound, that was one of the things I wanted to talk to you about."

Fury flipped the clipboard around in his hands, showing Bryanna the papers and the bright red stamp at the top of the file.

"Cleared"

Bryanna blinked and a ghost of a smile appeared on Fury's face before vanishing.

"Do you know what that means? That means that you are medically cleared to leave the compound as long as an agent is with you. No holding you prisoner, you'll have one day a week to go enjoy the world once again."

Bryanna's eyes lit up and she jumped to her feet, bounding around the room with a grin.

"YESSSS! When do I go?! Who takes me?"

"You will be going tomorrow, and Agent Coulson will be the one taking you."

Bryanna grinned, slowing to a stop right in front of the imposing man in front of her.

"Nice! You know, maybe you aren't as much a stick up the rear end as Tony thought!" She cheered before hurrying to the door and pushing it open to join her guard who was waiting outside.

"Bye Fury!"

* * *

Fury watched her leave with a wholly unimpressed expression.

"Stick up the "rear end" agent. How...flattering."

He sighed and left the medic bay, striding through the halls towards his office.

"This is why I dislike kids."

* * *

So what did you think? Reviews are welcome! Flames shall be laughed at, posted for others to laugh at, and ignored as I continue the story.


	28. A Step Forward

Here is the third and final chapter of this update cycle!

I hope you all enjoy:)

* * *

 **A Step Forward**

* * *

Bryanna was sitting at her table trying to scarf down her breakfast as quickly as possible as she glanced up repeatedly at her clock. The second hand seemed to have slowed down and Bryanna just wanted it to be ten o'clock already!

"Bryanna, you have a visitor."

The teen looked up eagerly only to deflate slightly when Natasha walked in instead of Agent Coulson.

"Hi Nat." Bryanna greeted the red haired operative.

Since she had first met Clint's friend she had found herself enjoying the woman's company. She had a sense of humour and wasn't frightened of Bryanna's power anymore then Clint was. She would even join Clint on breaks sometimes to come hang out with Bryanna, boardgames were so much more fun to play when Natasha joined them.

"Hey Bryanna, looking forward to getting out for a bit?"

Bryanna shot the woman a look that made it clear her thoughts on the obvious question. Natasha chuckled and walked over to Bryanna's bed, dropping the duffel bag down on it.

"What's that?"

"Clothing. I figured that you'd rather go out wearing clothes that blended in a little better rather then your "blindingly sparkly rainbow shirts that deserve to be burned". So I took it upon myself to find you a better outfit."

Bryanna shovelled the last few mouthfuls of her breakfast and swallowed before leaving the table to come investigate what had been brought for her.

"What do I get to wear then?"

Natasha smirked and opened the bag, reaching in and pulling out a pair of dark wash jeggings to toss to her. Bryanna caught it and admired them silently before glancing back up at Natasha who continued to dig through the bag. She withdrew a simple navy tee with a lower neckline to prevent the restrained feeling that high neckline shirts caused for Bryanna.

"Go change."

Bryanna eagerly obeyed, happy to be out of the neon green shirt that some moron thought would somehow appeal to her and the light blue jeans. Once she was dressed in the clothing that Natasha had chosen she felt herself relax, appreciating the sensation of the soft fabric that both garments provided.

When she exited the washroom Natasha beckoned her over, several tube-like things of creamy paste in her hands.

"Hold out your arm for me will you?"

Bryanna did as she was asked and watched as Natasha compared several of the pastes next to her before giving a soft aha and whipping out a big fluffy brush.

"Tilt your head back and lift your hand away from your neck."

Instantly Bryanna was stepping back, hands coming up to cove her neck protectively.

"Hey, relax. This isn't to hurt you, what I have here is concealer. I know how self conscious you are about your scar, this will cover it up for you so you don't have to worry and you can just enjoy yourself."

Bryanna hesitated for a moment before slowly doing as she asked while Natasha squeezed paste out and applied it to Bryanna's scar. She flinched at the sensation of the cold paste and the fluffy brush before forcibly relaxing. Once Natasha was done with the paste she switched brushes and tossed the paste onto her bed to crap so,e sort of powder that was swiped overtop.

"Perfect."

Natasha nodded before handing Bryanna a black jacket that she shrugged on and a slouchy beanie. The last item handed to her was a pair of black combat boots, Bryanna eyeing them with a grin before accepting them and sitting down to pull them on and do them up.

Once she was ready she stood up and waited while Natasha examined her with a critical eye.

"You look good, this really suits you. I knew it. Come look."

She followed Natasha to her bathroom and watched as Natasha closed the door, revealing the full length mirror that Bryanna had studiously avoided. It took her a moment before she was able to pull up the courage to face herself in the mirror.

"See? You look good."

Bryanna did see. For the first time since the day she was taken by HYDRA she could finally look in the mirror and see someone other then a prisoner, she no longer felt like a shadow of who she used to be.

The darker clothes comforted her, she actually felt like she could be this new version of herself instead of forcing herself into the clothes and the styles that innocent Bryanna had worn back when she was a child. She wasn't stupid, she knew that the shirts and other types of clothing that they had bought for her were supposed to be for, helping bring back the happy-go-lucky child. They didn't seem to understand, that wasn't who she was anymore. She was still able to be that person in a way, but not like how they wanted.

"Yeah. I see."

The peaceful moment was broken as the door to her room was flung open, making Bryanna nearly jump out of her skin. When she heard two familiar voices coming from her room she rolled her eyes and pulled the door open to greet Clint and Agent Coulson.

"Hey kiddo-hey look at you! That really suits you." Clint commented, "Natasha, you are good."

"Why thank you." Natasha said loftily as she strolled out of the bathroom behind Bryanna.

"Can we leave?! I've been ready for hours!" Bryanna said impatiently, making both of the men chuckle.

"I was just coming up to get you now." Agent Coulson said with a slight smile.

"Sweet."

"Nat and I will be your resident fanclub coming to see you off." Was Clint's cheeky response.

Bryanna snorted and they left, following Agent Coulson as he strode down the hall. Clint fell into step next to her and slung an arm around her shoulders, chuckling about nothing in particular before tilting his head just enough that Natasha and Agent Coulson ahead of them couldn't read his lips.

"Hey, you gonna be okay after last night?" He murmured quietly, pitching his tone low enough that only she could hear.

Bryanna sighed heavily, thinking about the events of last night. She had been trapped in a nightmare last night, dreaming that HYDRA had taken her once again. Her guard had come in to wake her up, but the moment he touched her she had panicked and even before waking up had kicked him across the room and partway out into the hall.

"...I'm fine. You have impeccable timing by the way, showing up just as the guard nearly hit the wall on the opposite side of the hall. Why were you even in that hall?"

"Heading to my quarters on the other side, it was pure luck that I was in the hall when that happened."

"Luck, sure. How did you know to talk me down and let me wake up on my own?" She questioned.

"Natasha is the same. If she's dreaming you never touch her to wake her up, or you might end up with a bullet through the skull." He explained.

"Ooh."

He smirked and released his grip around her shoulders as they reached the doors labeled garage. The door was opened and Agent Coulson led them to a boring looking black car, withdrawing the keys from his jacket pocket to open the door.

Bryanna waved at Clint and Natasha before hopping in the passenger seat and hurriedly doing up her seatbelt while Agent Coulson started the car.

"Ready?"

She bobbed her head in an eager nod and he signalled behind him to Clint who flipped a switch and opened the garage for them.

"Away we go!"

* * *

As they drove down the freeway Bryanna was practically floating on clouds. For the first twenty minutes she was just glued to the passenger window, gawking out her window at the bright sky and all the greenery.

"It's so pretty..."

The last time she had been outside it had been nighttime, and she had been far more focused on staying on the motorcycle behind The Asset. She hadn't really enjoyed her time and allowed herself to just soak in the sight of the outside world.

"Hey, can I turn on the radio?"

"Feel free." Agent Coulson answered, glancing at her for a moment before turning his attention back to the road.

"Thanks." She reached out and turned it on, amusing herself by flipping through the channels at random. "You know, you look really different when you aren't dressed in a suit. You don't look like you walked off the set of Men in Black."

Agent Coulson chuckled.

"I'll take that as a compliment then. I'm not on official business and I'm aiming for us to blend in so the suit was left behind."

Bryanna nodded and continued idly flipping through channels until stopping on one that interested her.

"Speaking of blending in, while we're out calling me Agent will only bring unwanted attention. Just call me Phil, it's quicker and won't catch the attention of people around us."

"Sure, where are we going once we get to the city?"

"Thats up to you. Where do you want to go?" He asked, tossing the question back on her.

"Ooh...I wanna go get ice cream!"

He raised a brow at her overexcited declaration before chuckling a second time and pulling off onto the exit ramp.

"Welcome to San Francisco." He said with a small smile, Bryanna's eyes lighting up as he entered the busy city.

They drove through the city, keeping an eye out for some sort of ice cream parlour.

"Hey look at that! The sign says thanks San Francisco for best local ice cream award! We should definitely go there." Bryanna said, pointing over at said sign.

Agent Coulson quickly pulled into the parking lot and before he had even turned off the car Bryanna was fumbling to get her seatbelt off.

"Slow down, the ice cream isn't going anywhere." He said laughingly as he followed her into the parlour.

They entered the parlour and approached the counter where a older teen girl with blond highlights leaned against the counter, snapping her gum.

"Heya, how can I help ya?"

Bryanna glanced around before looking up at the board. She tried to focus and just choose a flavour but found her eyes darting all over, allowing her to mentally map out the entire shop and the available exits. Behind her she heard the door get yanked open and laughing raucous voices filled the shop, making Bryanna flinch and absently tap her fingers against the counter, her nervous energy coming out in the spasmodic movements of her finger.

"Hey, you okay? You're acting weird."

Bryanna's head jerked and she instinctively forced her body into the trained blankness that protected her from revealing too much.

"Sorry, just distracted. I'll have a strawberry milkshake." Bryanna ordered.

The serving girl gave her a sceptical look.

"Riiigght, and for you sir?

"A double scoop chocolate waffle cone please." Agent Coulson ordered, smiling at the girl who nodded and went to do their orders.

Bryanna flexed her hands against the counter and tried to relax as people came up behind them to wait for their turn at the counter. As Bryanna tried to relax a warm hand closed over her shoulder and she glanced over at Agent Coulson, startled.

"You're fine. Just breathe, I'm right here." He murmured softly to her, the words having their intended effect as the coiled muscles in her shoulders and back loosened the slightest amount.

"Here you are. One strawberry milkshake and one cone. Have a seat wherever you like." The server said cheerfully, Bryanna hurriedly grabbing her shake and retreating with Agent Coulson following close behind.

Sensing that she was overwhelmed and on edge with her first time among general public in over six years Agent Coulson stepped up behind her and guided her forward with a gentle hand on her shoulder, steering her to far booth and allowing her to pick the seat facing the door.

"Do you need to leave? We can go and try another day."

Bryanna let out a slow breath as she sat down before shaking her head.

"No, now that I'm not right up close to them I'm okay." She said as she started in on her milkshake.

She took a drink and as the cool ice cream washed over her tongue her eyes drifted shut and she let out a happy sigh.

"This makes me think of when I was a kid before my parents died."

"Oh?"

Bryanna opened her eyes and swallowed, nodding to Agent Coulson who was watching her.

"Yeah. Tony and I used to go to our favourite diner for awesome sibling bonding time, I would almost always have curly fries and a strawberry shake." She said with a wistful look. "I loved ice cream and Tony was always happy to entertain my love for the dessert, I remember when my parents left us before... uh, Tony and I made all you can eat ice cream sundaes. We felt pretty gross after we ate though, waaaay to much ice cream for us."

Agent Coulsen smiled as Bryanna let out a soft laugh.

"He was the best brother. Still is really, I know he doesn't really understand what happened to me but he knows that something's wrong with me, and even though he knows that still wants me back as his sister. He hadn't abandoned me, he still cares..."

"He's not the only one who cares Bryanna."

Bryanna tilted his head in confusion and Agent Coulson lowered his cone so he could meet her eyes full on.

"Despite how you feel about us, since our department rescued you, you have managed to worm your way into some of our hearts in some way or another. Clint cares a great deal about you, has pretty much adopted you as his new family member. Natasha sees you as an equal and even a friend, which is an extreme rarity all in itself. I find myself enjoying your company. And then there's Director Fury, I'm not exactly sure how you did it but he's almost affectionate when he refers to you as "the evil Stark"."

Bryanna burst into laughter at that last one, Agent Coulson laughing softly along with her. After his statement she found herself relaxing a little more, finding herself a tad bit more comfortable in his presence. They finished their ice cream and headed back out to the car, Bryanna happy to just sit in the passenger seat while they drove all around San Francisco.

They got out of the car to go for a small walk but it didn't take long before Bryanna found herself mentally exhausted from holding back instinctive responses when some stranger did something that scared or startled her and they decided to head back to the headquarters.

As they drove back she and Agent Coulson kept up light conversation, he asked her about her and Tony's various escapades and Bryanna was happy to share those memories. Once they reached headquarters however, she was relieved to retreat to the peace of her room and decompress from the day.

Today had been really good, this was the best first day out she could have had.

* * *

Nick Fury leaned back in his seat, staring in the screen in front of him where Maria Hill looked back.

"So you have found absolutely no evidence of any other HYDRA cells in your area?" He confirmed.

"No, absolutely nothing. I really think that you and Agent Coulson are right, this was some sort of single cell operation. Has she opened up at all about what she went through?"

Fury sighed, running a hand over his bare scalp.

"No. We aren't working so much towards a testimony now, as just answers on how she ended up kidnapped by HYDRA and what they did to her that gave her shadows. We took blood samples and had them tested and they're coming up with some sort of strange compound, never seen anything like it. Almost as if she got some sort of transfusion and it's knit with her blood cell. The properties aren't even remotely human, they don't match up to any element or anything else in our database.

"Maybe a transfusion from a mutant? I don't see how that would work with the tests we've already run but that's as close as I can guess." Maria mused.

"I doubt it, but I'm not ruling it out. Right now Bryanna Stark is a complete mystery to us, hopefully in time we can at least get some answers on what happened to her. She's surprisingly adept at recognizing when Coulson or I am working around to a topic she doesn't want to address. She either gets belligerent or she completely closes herself off. And then to top it all off I'm planning to send Coulson back into the field soon for a long term mission, but I doubt that will go over well for Bryanna. She has the few people she trusts herself around, three people to be exact, and Coulson happens to be one of those people."

Maria nodded.

"Well, I certainly wish you luck on that."

He snorted.

"Thanks, when dealing with Bryanna I'm going to need it. Now that we know there isn't any base to be found we can confirm this as a single cell operation, which means you can come back now. I have a whole pile of work waiting for you."

* * *

Tony Stark strutted down across the tarmac to the plane where Pepper stood waiting.

"You're late."

"Well hello to you too sweetness." He quipped, breezing past her to settle himself in the plane.

Pepper followed him in and they both settled themselves comfortably in the seats as they prepared for takeoff.

"So where are we going this time?"

His assistant let out a sigh before pasting on a patient smile.

"As I told you this morning, we are heading to a convention where you will be giving a speech on technological innovation and how Stark Industries is working towards universally accessible clean energy technology." Pepper explained, Tony nodding and accepting the offered drink from his stewardess.

"Oh, very interesting. Uh, where is this convention being held again?"

Pepper sighed a second time and Tony smirked as he reclined with his drink.

"It's being held in San Francisco."

* * *

So what did you think? Reviews are welcome! Flames shall be laughed at, posted for others to laugh at, and ignored as I continue the story.


	29. Families Worth

Hello all!

So I am happy to present to you the next cycle of updates! I want to say a quick thank you to all of you who have been fav/following and reviewing! It's incredibly encouraging to see those and know that people are enjoying the story:)

On a slightly unrelated note I wanted to share a exciting new development for how I'm working out a new way to be able to personally interact with my readers. I have gone and started a new blog, specifically centred around interacting with all of you guys! I'll be using it to post announcements and snippets for upcoming new works as well as news and teasers for existing ones. There will be character bios with easy access tags so you can easily find the work dedicated to a specific OC, and other then my long multi chaps you'll be able to find all my different works organized by tag for easy browsing and access. I also am open to Q&A's for any topic you want, as well as random thoughts you'd like to share for conversations:) I would really love to be able to connect with all you guys who have supported me and my crazy ideas for fanfics with your fav/follows. reviews and patience with my forgetfulness when it comes to updating. I'm hoping to be able to eventually centre the blog completely around my readers and people who follow some of my art series so if any of you guys are interested head on over! My url handle can be found on my profile near the top of my bio so just copy/paste and take out the spaces and you're set!

I hope you all enjoy the next three chapters!

* * *

 **Families Worth**

* * *

"Hey Phil, what's that building over there? I've never seen it this busy before." Bryanna commented, pointing across the bay.

The area along the bay had become a regular place to go walking, just busy enough that Bryanna was getting plenty of exposure to being surrounded by people but not so much activity that she was being jostled and bumped.

"That's the South San Francisco Conference Centre." Agent Coulson answered, Bryanna humming in acknowledgment as she leaned against the rail and studied it from over the bay.

"Do you know what's going on there?"

"A green technology convention according to the advertisement posters I noticed as we drove around town." He answered without missing a beat.

"Cool! Let's go look!"

She started off down the sidewalk and she heard Agent Coulson sigh before quickening his pace to catch up with her.

"Bryanna, the convention isn't going to be open to the public. It's for companies and investors that are involved in the clean energy and green technology industry, for advertising their work and showcasing current work in this particular field."

Bryanna shrugged at his words and Agent Coulson shook his head with another sigh as they rounded the bay and hurriedly walked towards the stairs.

"If we aren't go in then why are you so determined to see the building?" Agent Coulson questioned.

"I've been to several conventions like this before when I was a kid, so I've met some of the names in green technology, my dad took me and Tony to several while he gave speeches on clean energy development." She explained as they approached the stairs.

Reporters and cameramen lined the staircase on all sides, and Bryanna could see security guards standing at the curb next to several different cars.

Next to her she heard Agent Coulson mutter the words clean energy and Stark quietly under his breath before giving a startled noise.

"Bryanna stop!"

She paused and turned to face Agent Coulson with furrowed brows, confused by his reaction.

"We need to leave, now!"

"What? But-"

Agent Coulson didn't even let her finish before he had grabbed her forearm in a gentle but firm grip and was pulling her back in the direction they had just come.

"Come on, we'll come back another time. Let's go." He said urgently.

Bryanna's eyes narrowed and she dug in her heels, yanking her arm away.

"Stop that! I don't want to leave, I want to see if I recognize any of the names on the poster. I don't need you dragging me around like some errant child!" Bryanna snapped.

He grabbed her arm again, grip slightly tighter this time and his lips were pinched.

"Bryanna just come with me, there's some things going on here that you aren't ready to deal with." He said plainly, clearly realizing that dancing around the situation was useless.

Behind them she could hear someone exiting and all the reporters murmuring as they surged forward. Loud voices started piling one over another but she was far to focused on the agent in front of her that was acting weird and setting her on edge. Bryanna glared at Agent Coulson, pulling her arm again only for him to pull her gently back towards the exit.

"Cut it out! I'm not-" She started to snap, only to be cut off by an oh so familiar voice.

"Hey! What's going on over here?"

That was impossible...

At first she thought she was hearing things, that lack of sleep had finally caught up and was repaying her in one of the worst ways possible. Taunting her with her brothers voice. Her breathing started to pick up and her muscles relaxed in Agent Coulson's grip, her eyes widening.

"Nothing, sorry for disturbing you. Just-"

"Hey, I know you! Coulson right? What are you doing all the way over here?"

His voice had gotten closer, and in one fluid motion Bryanna jerked her arm free and wheeled to face the same direction as Agent Coulson. Her wide eyes landed instantly on a cocky and self assured figure that swaggered towards them with a small smirk.

He never even looked at her, clearly more interested in the agent that stepped up just past her.

"Do you have some sort of letter or something? I-"

"Tony?"

The shocked whisper slipped from her lips almost without her realizing, causing her brother to pause and turn towards her for the first time.

Shadowed eyes met brown and she saw the exact moment he realized who he was looking at. His eyes went wide and his mouth hung open, neither paying any attention as a red haired woman hurried up behind her brother.

"Bryanna..." He muttered, sounding hopelessly confused for the first time she could remember.

His words snapped her out of her shock and with a choked cry she began to run.

"TONY!"

The guards behind him never had a chance to react as she lunged forward, bolting straight towards him. She tripped over her own feet in her haste to reach him but as she fell forward she never hit the ground, instead she fell directly into Tony's waiting arms as he pulled her into him.

A mixture of laughter and tears escaped her mouth as she pressed her face into his jacket, arms wrapping tightly around his neck as she clung to him.

"You caught me. Just like you always did, you caught me." She babbled, sniffing as she felt Tony's arms grip her tight enough to hurt.

"You're here." He mumbled into her hair where his face was pressed.

The siblings clung tightly to one another, Bryanna struggling to regain her hold on her emotions as she gripped his suit jacket as tightly as she could. Her whole body shook as she mumbled over and over again that this wasn't a dream. Around them there was the sounds of raised voices and the rapidfire clicking of cameras, but neither Tony nor Bryanna acknowledged them.

Eventually Tony's grip on her relaxed and he tugged at her shoulders, Bryanna releasing her arms and slowly allowing him to pull her back. She looked up tearfully at Tony as he stared at her face, eyes darting all over her as if he was committing her face to memory.

"Bryanna... Bri. You-...you're here. With me." He said quietly, tone almost disbelieving as he gripped her shoulders.

She nodded and he pulled her into a second hug, holding her tightly.

"Mr Stark, ah- Miss Stark, I apologize for interrupting but I believe it would be prudent to move this discussion somewhere more private." One of her brothers security men said hesitantly, stumbling over how to address Bryanna. She assumed that Agent Coulson had informed the guards on who she was.

"Yeah, let's go back to the hotel. Then we can talk uninterrupted." Tony said after a moment, turning back towards the cars and waving, his movement signalling the driver of a black car that pulled slowly through the reporters over to them.

Around them her brothers security had surrounded them to block any of the reporters. Agent Coulson moved directly behind her and she felt him take her hood and tuck it over her head to partially hide her face.

"We need to leave without them getting a proper photo of your face." Agent Coulson said lowly.

The car pulled up next to them and Tony pulled the back door open, sliding into the back seat and pulling Bryanna along with him. Agent Coulson got in next to Bryanna who found herself squished in between the two men. A red haired woman that she had noticed earlier climbed into the front and the car slowly pulled away from the curb, people banging on the car and calling Tony's name.

"Security will follow in the car behind." The woman in the front assured Agent Coulson who glanced behind them at the black car pulling out.

Bryanna reached over, grabbing onto Tony's arm to assure herself that he was really there with her and that he wasn't leaving. The emotional overload was making her tremble and with a careful glance around to make sure that no one was watching she slowly pulled on her shadows, allowing them to wrap around her bare arms under her hoodie sleeves. The cold sensation helped calm her and she closed her eyes, leaning her head back and taking several deep and slow breaths before letting them out.

"Bryanna?" Agent Coulson called softly.

"I'm fine." She responded, lifting her head off the headrest and opening her eyes.

She could feel eyes on her, the red haired woman had turned in her seat to face the back seat and the man in the drivers seat was glancing at her in the rearview mirror. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Tony studying her and with all the attention on her she felt like a bug under a microscope.

"Here."

Icy cold metal was pressed into her palm and Bryanna looked down to see Agent Coulson pressing a metal cube into her hand. Her fingers closed tightly around it and she nodded in thanks, rolling it in her fingers. They had recently discovered that for her metal served as almost like a grounding object, pulling her out of the panic she could get into when overwhelmed and calming her.

The drive was quiet and Bryanna focused intently on her lap, one hand holding onto Tony and the other fiddling with the cube. She didn't know how long they were driving but it didn't feel like long before they were pulling into the parking lot of an extremely fancy hotel.

"Here you are sir." The driver said formally.

"Thanks Happy, go take a break for a bit. Charge whatever you spend on me." Tony said as the door was opened on Agent Coulson's side and one after another they all climbed out.

Security surrounded the car and blocked people from getting to close as Tony closed the door behind him. Bryanna tugged her hood to make sure it covered as much of her face as possible as they all made their way to the elevator.

When security followed them into the elevator Bryanna felt herself tense, slowly backing up until she was able to press her back against the corner. Both hands were stuffed deep into her pockets and her head was down, but anyone who was trained in combat would easily see the tension in her muscles and how she shifted her stance into defensive, ready to move into action should her safety be threatened.

A hand settled on her shoulder and she flinched, head shooting up to see Tony staring down at her with concern written all over his face.

"You okay?"

She relaxed under his grip and shot a thin smile at her brother.

"I'm alright. Just a lot to take in right now."

They stood in silence as the elevator moved up the floors, the penthouse button glowing as Pepper put away the keycard she had tapped against the sensor. Minutes later the elevator stopped and the door opened to reveal one of the most beautiful rooms Bryanna had seen.

"Ooh..."

Tony grinned and steered her off the elevator with him into the penthouse, Bryanna momentarily distracted from the guards as she took in her surroundings.

"This is beautiful." She said after a moment.

"Hell yeah it is, I wouldn't be staying here if it wasn't." Tony said with a smirk, shrugging out of his suit coat and pulling off his tie so he could undo his dress shirt and toss it over in the corner of the room.

"So much better." He said with a sigh as he smoothed his undershirt and dropped down onto one side of the small couch that had been set up in a small sitting area.

Bryanna hesitated in the middle of the room and Tony patted the seat next to him. She nodded and carefully approached, sitting down carefully next to him and looking over at where Agent Coulson stood with the red haired woman and the security guards.

"Hey security, you guys can leave. This is going to be a private conversation, I don't want you guys hanging around." Her brother called, the men in his security detail quickly leaving the penthouse.

"Bryanna, I'd like you to meet my assistant and right hand for all things in life, Pepper."

The red haired woman smiled at Bryanna and crossed the room to offer her hand. She stared at the hand for a moment before shifting away, Pepper's smile faltering as her hand dropped. Bryanna felt a flash of guilt, she wasn't trying to offend her brothers assistant, she just really couldn't handle physical contact with strangers right now.

"Um, hi." She finally said, her voice sounding forced and tense which made her internally cringe. "I mean, it's nice to meet you."

This time it came out sounding a tad more normal and not as forced, and Bryanna glanced away uncomfortably.

"It's nice to meet you as well, I've heard so much about you and I'm excited to finally meet you." Pepper suddenly said warmly, making Bryanna look up in surprise.

"Thanks." She mumbled, at a loss of what to say.

She had no idea what to think or do in a situation like this. She was finally reuniting in person with the brother she had been talking with for months without ever getting to see except for through the rare video chat, and now she was exchanging pleasantries with a stranger while she sat next to said brother.

"Terribly sorry to interrupt this lovely girl's bonding moment, but I'm impatient and want to ask my dearest sister an extremely important question that simply can't wait." Tony butted in, causing them all to turn and face him as he gave a dramatic clearing of the throat. "How did the truly awesome prank we planned together go? You said you were finally going to follow through with it last time we talked. "

Pepper gaped at Tony and Agent Coulson blinked while Bryanna grinned and gave a tiny hop in place.

"It went awesome! I did exactly as you suggested for the stink bomb and managed to keep it hidden, then I bribed someone to sneak it into the directors office wrapped in foil, and once I knew it had been delivered I used a special trick to crush the egg and stinkify his office." Bryanna said with a wicked laugh, eyes glittering with mirth.

"So that was you who did that. It took almost two weeks to get that stench out." Agent Coulson said, shaking his head with a sigh.

"How long did the egg sit?" Tony prodded.

"Two months!" Bryanna declared proudly.

The two siblings laughed and high fived. Phil Coulson crossed his arms and cleared his throat, bringing their attention to him.

"As wonderful as hearing you two celebrating a stink bomb is, we have some slightly more important things to deal with. For example, explaining to the director this current turn of events."

Bryanna grimaced at the thought of his reaction and watched as Agent Coulson reached into his pocket to pull out his cell phone. He had just barely started dialling a number when Bryanna grabbed onto her brothers arm tightly and leaned forward.

"Please don't call him! He'll want you to take me back and I don't want to leave Tony again! I want to talk and spend time with him, I'm tired of only being able to see him through a computer screen!" Bryanna pleaded, expression earnest.

"Protocols that have been set in place for your time out of headquarters, and this situation is certainly one I can just bypass protocol for." Agent Coulson informed her as he finished dialling the number.

"What?! Hey! Stop! I said-"

"Hello, Director?" Agent Coulson answered, cutting Bryanna off.

There was a moment of tense silence before he spoke again.

"Yes, there has been a rather large problem-...you know? What?!" Then he moved the mouthpiece away and looked over at Pepper. "Do you have a computer or something with you? I need you to look up "Tony Stark Conference Rendezvous" for me."

Pepper hurried over to one of the doors in the massive penthouse and entered the room behind, rustling noises echoing out into the main room before Pepper reemerge with a laptop. Returning to her seat she typed away for several moments before gasping.

"Oh this is going to be a PR nightmare..."

"What is it?" Tony asked, reaching over and spinning the laptop to face him.

"BACHELOR TONY STARK HAVING SECRET RENDEZVOUS WITH MINOR?!"

Bryanna and Tony let out twin groans at the sight of the headline.

"You have got to be kidding me." Tony muttered, clicking the first headline and slowly scrolling through.

"Tony Stark, billionaire and widely known as a ace womanizer has been seen with plenty of woman, most of which were part of his not-so-secret flings over the years since stepping into the media spotlight. However, this one might just be the one to top all others.

Outside of the South San Francisco Conference Centre after one of his scheduled appearances at the Clean World Technology Convention taking place this week Tony Stark had been speaking with the media when a disturbance a few feet away caught the attention of the billionaire. He went down to see what was going on and upon speaking to the older man and female who appeared to be no older then mid teens the teen shouted his name and lunged for him, the two sharing a passionate embrace-"

"Passionate embrace?!" Bryanna squawked, glaring at the screen.

Beside her Tony muttered a few choice words under his breath, clicking back and checking several other articles that had similar articles. Over where Agent Coulson sat there was a click, and Fury's voice suddenly filled the room.

"As you are currently seeing, this incident has spread all over the Internet like wildfire. Everyone and their dog knows about what happened, there are countless pictures circulating. The only thing on our side is that they never got a good shot of Bryanna's face. This is exactly what we don't want! We are going to have to come up with explanations and cover stories and alibis. I run a government department! My job isn't to clean up after Stark messes!"

"Yes, because this was absolutely my idea. To reunite with Bryanna in front of the bloodthirsty press. You know, none of this would have ever happened had you allowed Bryanna and I to see each other face to face long before this. In fact, if she lived with me like I've been pushing for the last couple months to happen, this wouldn't have even been something you'd have to ever worry about." Tony snarked.

"That being said, the point is that it did happen and we are dealing with this situation right now. We're going to have to do some figuring to try and settle this down. I want Bryanna brought back right now, before any of the paparazzi think to come to the hotel and lay in wait on a hunch that she'll be here."

"What?! NO!" Bryanna shouted, all sense of calm gone at Fury's words.

"Hmm, nope. She's not going anywhere. We haven't been able to speak face to face until now, and courtesy of you and your little minions what time we do have to talk together is regulated by the control freaks in charge of her. I'm not letting Agent take my sister anywhere." Tony said, his voice light but his eyes narrowed and hard.

"You don't get a choice in the matter, Mr Stark." Fury stated.

"But I do! This is my life that you guys are fighting over! I'm so sick of living at that compound, everything I do having to be cleared through you guys. I can't go outside without being followed, I can't just go to the fridge and pick some food form myself, I can't just decide that I want to talk with my brother, it has to be cleared through people and monitored for a set time! I hate this! I want to live with Tony!" Bryanna shouted, fists clenched and eyes blazing.

"Bryanna-"

"If you force me back to headquarters I swear to god that I'm going to make your life a living hell. I don't care what it takes to be able to see my brother, I'll destroy whole wings of headquarters if I need to." She spat.

"By all means, please do. I've been wanting to upgrade our building but the council claims that while the building is in working order it will not be upgraded. If you destroy the building, not only will I get the changes I want but it'll be payed for by Stark funds so the council won't have too much of an issue. Coulson, bring her back immediately please, I have blueprints to start on." Fury rebutted, Bryanna catching traces of amusement in his tone.

"How about not? Since I think you have some slightly bigger problems on your plate to deal with then Bryanna." Tony said smoothly.

Pepper blinked, clearly as puzzled as Agent Coulson. Bryanna on the other hand knew what would be coming next, and from the groan on the other end of the phone line so did Fury.

"Alright, out with it. What's your threat?" Fury sighed.

Tony had mock startled look on his face at Fury's words.

"No, no you misunderstand me. I'm not threatening you at all, merely informing you about this issue I have that may have a rather unfavourable effect on you. See, recently I've been having this frustrating trouble. Stark Industries prides itself on being able to say that all our weapons are made from scratch by us, not third party groups are involved in the making of our military grade equipment. However, we don't have our own raw material to use just as the drop of the hat, we have to go through suppliers and vendors." Tony started, pasting the most innocent expression on his face.

"Let me guess, they're refusing to service you for some reason." Fury sighed.

Tony pressed a hand to his heart as a look of horror came over his face, almost hiding the wicket glint in his eyes.

"Oh if only it was that easy, no this situation is far more difficult! Because of the sensitive material I deal with, I don't go through a bunch of lower employees to place my orders, I have to go through the company owners who clear everything. Nothing is shipped out to anyone without their approval. But for some really strange reason the men that supply my most necessary material have gone on leave! Something about mandatory relaxation and stress release therapy." Tony shook his head with a sigh before continuing.

"I can't get ahold of them and during my free time I've been going through files and invoices to find if I was informed about their whereabouts for forwarded approval necessary to receiving my orders, but I just don't have the time to go through all that! I have work, public appearances, and time for tinkering and inventing that's necessary for creating new weapons. But that supplies is getting awful low, which in turn means that work halts. With no work being done, employees can't be paid and those employees would be forced to find new work which means that there is no one to create those weapons. By the time I get my shipments in...well there isn't anyone to work the equipment and create those weapons."

Bryanna's face was pink with her effort to hold back her laughter. Anyone with half a brain would know that he was just spinning a whole lot of crap, the tech industry didn't work that way, he was just going out of his way to mock Fury while simultaneously threatening him.

"Let me guess, that means you wouldn't be able to supply weapons to the military."

"Bingo!"

"No need to worry, we can supply you with exactly what you need through other suppliers." Fury said calmly.

"Not gonna work. The material has been formed with very specific compounds, it's one of a kind and nothing else would work. I'm afraid that without my special stuff I'm out of commission." Tony said, stretching and relaxing back with a smirk.

"...oh course. And now that you've shared that spectacular load of crap would you like to enlighten us on the "what if"?" Fury finally said, sounding wholly unimpressed.

"Well, if I had someone that had the time to go through that paperwork for the approval letters, someone that didn't mind sitting out of the spotlight and that I trusted with free access to my mansion, then I just might be able to get to work on those weapons again."

"I'll help you find someone to hire." Fury stated.

"Nope, I can't afford all the paperwork headache that goes into hiring someone for that. Pepper is far to busy to oversee someone since there's no way I'd trust any mere employee in my house or in my files like that." Tony dismissed.

"So who is this person you have in mind." Fury droned, clearly recognizing the futility of trying to get around Tony's game.

"Bryanna! I would absolutely trust her to have access to my files, I know she doesn't want to be in the public eye and would enjoy being able to hang around the mansion where she would have free access to food and anything else she would want. She would be perfect for the job."

"And I suppose that if I allowed her to return with you to complete this job you would be able to continue supplying weapons to the military." Fury clarified needlessly.

"You got it!"

"Whether you make those weapons for the government willingly or not is despite the point, you might be a private company but the government has the right to force you into making these weapons." Fury said tiredly.

Tony's face darkened, anger filling his features. Next to him Bryanna pressed back into the couch and glared at the phone.

"You can't make me do a damn thing, Director. If you would rather resort to force over just allowing my sister to live freely with me then I'd rather let my company fall to ruins around me then give in to my sister staying with sociopaths like that." Tony snapped. "If my sister isn't flying home with me on my plane at the end of this week then neither the government or the military will see one single weapon until you sign those papers that give me full legal custody of her."

Pepper's mouth dropped open and Agent Coulson gave a startled intake of breath while Tony glared at the phone, jaw set. Next to him Bryanna sat tense as a board, watching the phone with narrowed eyes.

After several moments of tense silence there was a heavy sigh.

"As much as I'd like to just say yes and get this headache off my hands, I can't. There's a reason we've been holding off on you two meeting, we knew that separating you two again would be a nightmare and right now we can't send her back with you." Fury started to explain.

"Why?! Give me one good reason why I can't go with Tony!" Bryanna spat.

"We have absolutely no idea how you ended up in the hands of the terrorists and whether or not their is still a threat to your safety because you refuse to talk about what happened and until we have an idea what happened and are able to set up any safety precautions necessary you cannot leave the one place where you are the most safe."

Bryanna stilled.

"Wait, you mean that if I tell you what happened I can go home with Tony?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying. Believe me Bryanna, as lovely to have around as you may be, we have absolutely no interest in keeping you at the base for any longer than absolutely necessary. All we were waiting for is the necessary information, then you would have been free to go."

That revelation hit her hard and she sagged back into the couch. If she had just told them what they wanted to know she could have been able to go home with him sooner?

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"We weren't interested in pressuring you into a breakdown, we want you to heal not hurt you further." Agent Coulson answered for Fury, meeting Bryanna's eyes steadily.

"...alright. I'll tell you what you need to know. But only if I get to fly out with Tony at the end of the week." Bryanna finally said, stuffing her hands back into her hoodie pockets and grabbing onto her cube. "But if you're lying and you don't send me home with Tony after I give you the information you want, I'll do everything in my power to destroy and ruin everything I can. I won't ever be used by someone again, not if I can help it."

There was a collective sigh of relief, and Tony gave her a tight squeeze with the arm draped over her shoulders.

"Good. Then we will start preparations right away, have someone ready the paperwork. Over the course of the week I will have Agent Coulson brief Tony on everything he needs to know about your condition, and what needs to be take care of while you live at the mansion. Bryanna will meet with us to share what information she can, and between those meetings we will allow you to meet and discuss for a small amount of time each day as she packs to move out to California with you." Fury said briskly before ending the call with a clipped, "She has an hour today before she comes back to headquarters."

The line was abruptly disconnected and Bryanna sat there staring at her brother blankly. She was going to get to go home...

"YESS!"

Her brothers hoot as he pumped a fist in the air effectively knocked her out of her frozen state and she cheered, slapping her brothers offered hand before allowing her brother to jerk her off the couch and haul her around the room in a impromptu happy dance.

"You're finally coming home!"

* * *

So what did you think? Reviews are welcome! Flames shall be laughed at, posted for others to laugh at, and ignored as I continue the story.


	30. Coming Home

Hello all!

So we have finally reached the long awaited reunion between family last chapter and I really hope you all enjoyed that chapter. We are getting steadily closer to the end of the first volume before stepping into the events of the actual movies within the cinematic universe.

Enjoy!

* * *

 **Coming Home**

* * *

Bryanna balked at the door of the meeting room, causing Agent Coulson to bump into her back.

"Bryanna?"

She swallowed hard, her mouth dry as she stared at Fury who was seated inside.

"I don't want to do this. I don't trust you to leave me alone when I've told you everything you need to know. I don't want to talk about the rest, but you guys'll push anyway. I know you will." She said, voice shaking.

"We aren't going-"

"You already have been! From the moment I arrived here you pushed! I-I don't want to do this!"

Fury stood from his seat in the room, hearing her words. She moved to back away again and glanced around.

"Hey kiddo, you off on another trip today?"

Bryanna jumped and spun as Clint's voice echoed down the hallway. He was grinning at her, but the expression faded when he saw the panicky expression on her face.

"What's going on? You okay?"

Just as Fury approached the door, Bryanna raised an arm to point at Clint.

"I'm only going to talk if he sits in there with me. I trust him not to push me to talk if I can't."

The blond archer blinked in apparent confusion and behind Bryanna Fury exchanged a look with Agent Coulson.

"Fine. He's already bound by his original contract to keep all information confidential, nothing else is necessary for this. Barton, get in here." Fury ordered before striding back into the room, Coulson and Bryanna following with Clint bringing up the rear.

"What's going on?" He asked again, taking a seat next to Bryanna.

"Bryanna is being cleared to finally return home with her brother. However, before we can do that we need to do a basic debriefing of her time with HYDRA." Agent Coulson explained, Clint's brow raising.

"I thought that you weren't ever going to talk." He commented, glancing down at her.

"Either I talk or I don't go home." Was her clipped response.

"She says that she won't talk unless someone who she trusts not to push for more information then strictly necessary is here with her, that means that you will remain here for the duration of this conversation." Fury stated, taking a seat across from Bryanna and next to Agent Coulson.

"Seriously? I-okay." Clint looked over at her again and Bryanna tried for a strained smile before turning back to face Fury and Agent Coulson.

"Alright. Let's start with how you ended up with HYDRA in the first place, shall we? You can start whenever you're ready."

Squaring her shoulders she took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

And then she began to talk.

She told them about how her foster parents and the social worker had turned on her when they had arrived at her home, how they had knocked her out with some sort of sedative and taken her to their lab. She told them about how they had led her to believe that they were government and how they just might have succeeded in turning her into a monster willingly had she not seen the symbol for HYDRA on their wall, something that destroyed their mask and revealed who they really were as they tied her down and forcibly injected what they had claimed to be the blood of an inhuman into her veins. It was there that they stopped her.

"Wait, they specifically referred to the blood as inhuman?" Agent Coulson questioned.

Bryanna nodded and he leaned back in his chair, glancing over at Fury meaningfully.

"Continue."

It felt like years to go through and explain what they wanted. She never went into detail on anything, giving the bare minimum on anything they asked. She skipped over talking about the various things they had put her through, humiliation during training before she had broken, the branding, and only just mentioned the torture that had put her through before finally breaking her. Near the end she finally curled into a ball in the chair, arms wrapped tightly around her drawn up legs as she rocked slightly in place.

"You mentioned a while ago that you had been trained partway through your time with them by one of their assassins, which is what allowed you to become their resident executioner." Fury said, lacing his fingers and resting them on his abdomen. "Who was that assassin? What do you remember about them? From everything you were able to tell us our intel was correct, this was indeed a single cell operation. That leaves your assassin instructor on the loose. Who is he? And how do we find him?"

Bryanna swallowed, now she needed to make a decision. Did she turn him in like she needed to? If she turned them in and they found him, people were going to die. He wasn't going to go willingly, and the government getting ahold of him would only be worse. She though about the answer she had given Natasha when the redhaired spy had asked her who her Teacher had been and what had happened to him. Then she rubbed her face and did her best to pull on the ace liar she had been trained into. Pulling one over on Fury wouldn't be easy, but she had to do it for The Asset, she needed to repay the kindness he had shown when she was with HYDRA. Kindness that would have put him in danger if it had been found out.

"He's dead. I don't know how or exactly why, but he pushed them too far. They heard him call me by my real name, and I had thought they would punish him, but they never did. They just-... stared at him. That evening I heard shouting, they dragged him outside. One hour later the guards came back, alone with mud on their pants and jacket sleeves. I never saw him again." Bryanna said, allowing her voice to tremble from the suppressed emotion of sharing what had taken place during her time with HYDRA.

Fury studied her with narrowed eyes.

"What do you know about him?"

"Nothing really." Bryanna answered honestly. "Familiarity breeds connection and affection, they wanted to deaden that part of me and to share personal details about the assassin would ruin that."

"What did they call him?" Was Fury's next question.

"The Asset. That's all I ever knew him as, I never learned of any official title or name." Bryanna explained, hoping that his line of questioning on this topic was over.

He gave a slow nod, suspicion glimmering in his eyes.

"And after he died, what happened to you?"

"I worked for HYDRA getting rid of unwanted prisoners until you guys got me out." Was the simple answer.

They nodded in front of her and Bryanna glanced over at Clint who sat there stiffly. Rage flickered in his eyes and Bryanna flinched.

"Did I do something wrong?" The question slipped out automatically, Clint had never been upset with her and she found herself comfortable and not so concerned about making a mistake that might anger him. Seeing him like this worried her.

"Not at all. I'm just suddenly wishing that I hit the HYDRA people I faced harder now that I've heard your story." Was his dry response.

When she heard his explanation she gave a small smile. It was still had for her to remember that there were people that cared now, it felt so strange.

"Bryanna, we only have one more question, and then we're done. In order to record any potential triggers and hopefully prevent any panic or anxiety attacks we would like to know what happened when you faced...torture. Nothing in depth, just some general overviews." Agent Coulson said gently.

His question forced into her mind, grabbing onto the memories that hid just under the surface and ripping them up into the forefront. She let out an involuntary whimper, hands coming up to grab into her head as she shook it fiercely.

"No I can't, I can't. No no no."

Instantly a hand settled on her shoulders, the contact startling her and causing her to scramble away and over the chair arm to land ungracefully on the floor with a grunt. She snapped her head back to stare up above her and saw Clint sit back down, apologizing to her.

"Sorry kiddo, I wasn't thinking."

"I'm fine. It's fine." Bryanna muttered, picking herself up off the ground and wrapping her arms around herself.

"I think we're done. Thank you Bryanna, you can go relax now." Fury said, his eyes almost kind.

Bryanna nodded and started fastwalking towards the door.

"Barton, watch her for me. I don't want her having alone right now." Agent Coulson called, moments later Clint falling into step next to her.

They reached her room where Bryanna headed straight to her bed to burrow under the covers. Clint sent someone for his bag of movies which upon receiving he set up on the table facing her. As the movie started to play she scrunched up her legs and pointed to the now empty space on the other side of the bed without a word. Clint chuckled quietly before sitting down, bed creaking under the added weight. She lifted her head and watched as he shifted back to lean against the while, smiling at her before turning his attention to the screen.

Bryanna let her feet relax, toes pressing into her companions leg to help assure her that she wasn't alone. He looked over at her with concern and she simply gave a wan smile, causing the corners of his eyes to crinkle as his eyes filled with compassion. He reached over and rested a reassuring hand on her feet and Bryanna relaxed fully.

"Did Natasha do this too?"

"Yeah, sometimes having that physical reminder that you aren't alone can be really necessary. Let me know if you suddenly need space, alright?"

Bryanna nodded and they both turned their attention to the movie. She might not care much for living at Headquarters, but she was glad that she had met some of these people, especially Clint, Natasha and Agent Coulson.

Jury was still out on Fury though.

* * *

Tony sat on his couch dialling the number of his close family friend Obadiah Stane. He could barely mask the grin on his face as he waited for the man to pick up, this was going to be a highly entertaining conversation. Then his screen bleeped and an image filled it, Obadiah smiling at him from where he lounged on an easy chair.

"Tony! How are things going?"

"Great Obi, actually things are going amazing. That's kind of why I called you."

His friend's brows raised.

"Really? What happened?" Obadiah questioned.

"Well...I'm bringing someone new home with me for one." Tony said causally, glancing around the room before refocusing on Obadiah.

"You're what? Tony, please tell me that you didn't get someone pregnant or didn't get drunk married." Obi groaned, rubbing his forehead.

"What? No! Seriously, is that how little you think of me? I wouldn't never take that kind of mess home for you to deal with! I'd take care of it here."

"...how comforting."

"Yeah I thought so." Tony agreed. "No, actually this is kind of way bigger. You're sitting down right?"

"I'm getting rather scared, why don't you just tell me what's going on?" Obi sighed.

"Okay, yeah. Sooo, Bryanna isn't dead."

Obadiah blinked at him.

"Bryanna Stark? My little sister?"

Instantly Obadiah's face fell.

"Aw Tony, you promised not to drink this trip! How much have you had? You don't look drunk right now but-"

"Obi! I'm not drunk! I haven't touched a drop of alcohol, I swear."

"Of course you haven't Tony. Uh PEPPER! PEPPER, COULD YOU COME HERE PLEASE!" Obi sighed. "This drunk hallucination hasn't happened in years, I thought that maybe you wouldn't have to be tormented like this again. Listen to me Tony, Bryanna isn't here anymore. She died six years ago."

Tony rolled his eyes and glanced over at the doorway as Pepper came hurrying in.

"Was that Obadiah I heard yelling my name?"

"Yes, hello Pepper. How much has Tony had to drink?" Obadiah questioned, skipping formalities.

"Nothing as far as I know. Why?" Pepper asked.

"He thinks that Bryanna is somewhere with him, he said that he was bringing her home with him." Obadiah said, glancing between Pepper and Tony.

"Oh, uh-...yes, that. Well, I understand why you believed him to be drunk, but he's very much telling the truth." Pepper said awkwardly.

"Yup, there's something I've been keeping from you. See, months and months ago I was contacted by the government, had a special agent visit me and everything. Apparently Bryanna never died, she was kidnapped by the terrorists who used her social services worker to remove her from our home without problem. They framed her death with the fire, killing her foster parents in the process." Tony explained quickly his own grin growing as Obadiah's mouth fell open.

"I'm sorry, did you just say that she was kidnapped by terrorists?!" Obadiah gaped.

Tony smirked.

"Course I did, you aren't that old that you would already start going delusional." His smile faded as he continued talking about Bryanna. "They used her for some sort of wacked out experimentation process. She was a captive for six years before the anti terrorist part of the government took down their operation and rescued her. Apparently she woke up on the exact day of the six year anniversary of what was believed to be her death. I only found out some time ago, and I was ordered to keep this information to myself due to the investigations and such."

Obadiah leaned his head back and blew out a sigh.

"I'm going to be honest here, I'm really having a hard time believing this."

"I figured. Go ahead and check your email, Pepper has sent several pictures just taken on Monday of Bryanna and I." Tony said, waiting while Obadiah grabbed his computer and pulled up his email, a look of mild surprise flitting across his features when he saw the photo of Tony sitting with his arm around a teenaged Bryanna.

"She looks so different, and I'm not just talking about the changes that come with getting older. Her eyes are so different, and you can see the tension in her muscles even in that photo." Obadiah stated.

"Yeah, she's been through some stuff. I wanted to call ahead because I'm hoping that if we can all just treat her like she's always been apart of things she'll be able to relax into her new life quicker. The agents have been briefing me daily on things like her medical records, and some of the triggers they've discovered for her PTSD that should be avoided. It's going to be a major learning experience having her come to live with us, but the Agent working with her that's been briefing me is confident that she'll actually do a lot better once she's at home and in a healthy family environment then she's doing now."

"Is there anything I need to know? Is she unstable enough that she might burst into tears or such at the drop of a hat?" Obi questioned.

"Nah, nothing like that. If she was so unstable that she was having bad reactions at random they wouldn't be sending her home with us. It would be to dangerous for all of us."

Obadiah blinked.

"Dangerous?"

"Yeah, apparently she's badass now. She's even killed someone before, she'll lash out violently before she'll ever cry from what I can tell." Tony said offhandedly.

"And you're bringing her here?!"

Tony's smile melted right off his face at his friends reaction and he clenched his jaw stubbornly.

"Don't even bother starting with me Obadiah. I've been without my sister for over six years, I don't care what it takes any more, I'm bringing her home and keeping her close from now on. I won't lose her again, either to death or to her turning her back on people as she wastes away in her small room in a government base."

Obadiah held up his hands placatingly.

"I understand, and I agree. I wasn't going to try and stop you, I was more just trying to absorb the fact that the sweet little Bryanna I used to know is dangerous and she's coming home." Then he gave a slight snort. "Actually, it's more like I'm trying to absorb the fact that she's alive at all. Bryanna has always been full of surprises, but this takes the cake."

Tony laughed and his friend shook his head with a smile.

"Well, things are certainly going to get interesting."

* * *

Bryanna flipped the state of the art phone over in her hand, admiring it before looking up at Fury in puzzlement.

"Why are you giving me this? Not that I'm complaining, this is awesome, I'm just wondering."

"If we need to check in on you, I want to be able to contact you on a secure device. This is a government issued device like I would give my agents, I already have several numbers programmed into it, aside from my line." Fury said.

"Like who's?"

"Why don't you go look?"

Bryanna opened the phone and pressed her thumb to the circle in the bottom of the screen, holding there for a few seconds as Fury had told her two when she had first been handed the device until the screen flashed and unlocked the home screen. She flicked screens and opened up her contacts, scanning the four names aside from Fury's that showed up with a grin.

"Clint, Nat, Coulson and Tony. Clint and Natasha are okay with me having their number? And Coulson?"

"Coulson's number is programmed in there because if there is an emergency then you need to contact him directly. He's been assigned to your case for the time being, seeing as we can only have a high level agent working with you and I'd rather keep it with someone that I trust to work one on one with you. As for Clint and Natasha, they both on separate occasions expressed interest in keeping in contact with you, wanting to see how you were doing once you left. Both approved you have possession of their work line that they keep with themselves, so that you can safely contact them." Fury explained, amusement in his eyes although his face remained stoic.

She grinned down at the phone before slipping it into her hoodie pocket and looking up at Fury for a long moment. She mentally debated her next action that popped into her mind quite unexpectedly, was this worth running the risk of death?

Who was she kidding, she was a Stark! It was always worth it.

Suddenly stepping forward Bryanna did something random and slightly nuts, she wrapped her arm around the director for a mere moment in an unusually demonstrative show of affection.

"Thank you." She said before releasing him and taking off out of the meeting room before he could react.

The door closed behind her and Fury was left standing there, startled and taken aback by her actions. Minutes past, then the smallest hint of a smile flickered across his lips.

"You're welcome."

* * *

Bryanna stood at the back of the garage watching as several low level agents carried her few boxes of things out to the waiting car. All that came with her was the darker and more comfortable clothing that over the months Natasha had helped the staff pick out for Bryanna, and the various books and art supplies she had accumulated over the course of her stay.

"You must be excited, finally on your way home."

Bryanna looked up at Natasha in surprise, smiling when she saw her enter the garage.

"I thought you were away on a mission."

"I was, it just ended early. And just in time I found out, to say goodbye before you left." Natasha commented, coming over and leaning against the wall next to Bryanna with a half smile to Clint who stood on Bryanna's other side.

"Yeah. Thanks for having Fury stick your number in my phone by the way." Bryanna said.

Natasha laughed, resting her elbow on Bryanna's shoulder and making the teen grumble.

"No problem. You've been through some real crap and as awesome as family is, sometimes you just need to be able to hang out with someone who understand. My line is open if you ever need to vent or just get away for a couple of days."

Bryanna smiled up at her gratefully.

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind."

The last box was finally loaded and Coulson who was taking her to the airport walked over.

"Time to go Bryanna."

Bryanna nodded, stepping away from the wall and turning to face Natasha and Clint awkwardly.

"See you around Bryanna." The redheaded spy said with a nod, pushing off the wall while somehow still managing to look graceful before striding to the door of the garage. She wasn't acting like this was a final goodbye and somehow that comforted Bryanna.

"See ya Nat." Bryanna said quietly as the woman slipped out before turning to face Clint.

"Don't worry Kiddo, you'll be seeing me around as well. You're one of ours, you can't get rid of us now. I'll be calling to see how life is going, you better not leave me out of the loop as exciting things happen for you."

Bryanna laughed, the corners of Clint's eyes crinkled slightly as he smiled. He reached over, slinging an arm around her shoulders to give her a half hug which after a moments hesitation she returned.

"Bye Clint."

"Yeah, yeah. Save the goodbyes for someone you aren't going to see again, like that handy box carrying agent over there." Clint quipped, making her laugh as he released her and she walked over to the car, sliding into the front seat as Agent Coulson settled himself in the drivers seat.

The car started and as the garage doors opened Bryanna twisted back in her seat to wave at Clint before shifting back to face forward and relaxing. She refused to look back, instead she watched out her window with excitement as Agent Coulson drove them to a private airport for personal planes. He pulled through security with a simple flash of his badge, taking them down the road along the tarmac all the way to a plane emblazoned with the label STARK.

The moment the car stopped Bryanna fumbled her seatbelt off and bolted over to where her brother was waiting. As she reached him he pulled her into a half hug while giving a cocky salute to Agent Coulson.

"Looks like I'll be saying farewell and escaping off into the sunset with Bri." Tony said.

"More or less. Do you have some people that can take care of her boxes while I speak with you both?"

"Sure! Hey you three, go get her stuff boxes and load em up with my stuff." He called to the security guards standing around.

While they did as Tony said, he and Bryanna turned to Agent Coulson.

"Alright, so if anything happens contact me immediately. We will help work through anything that comes up. Please stick to the press release we gave you, don't add details. The less the public knows about what happened the better. Just enough to answer their first question without giving unnecessary answers." Agent Coulson said briskly, both Tony and Bryanna nodding in agreement.

"Is that all Agent?" Tony questioned.

"Yes. You both have been prepared for taking her back to Malibu. The only think left is to wish you both a good flight, and a safe trip. Goodbye you two." He said, warmth in his tone as they both grinned and saluted.

Then they started for the stairs that led to the plane, Bryanna following her brother up into the luxurious cabin where she sat down carefully in one of the plush seats. Pepper joined them and sat down a few seats away, everyone buckling in as the pilot informed them that they were about to take off.

Bryanna watched out the window eagerly as the plane lifted off the ground, eyes sparkling as the airport and San Francisco began to shrink beneath them.

It was weird to think that she wouldn't ever be returning to the headquarters and her room there, but at the same time it was so very exciting. She was finally moving off of this small chapter in her life, she was finally going home.

* * *

So what did you think? Reviews are welcome! Flames shall be laughed at, posted for others to laugh at, and ignored as I continue the story.


	31. Settling In

Hello all!

So we've finally reached home for Bryanna, her next step in her life outside of HYDRA. We're only a couple of updates away from the end of volume 1 and I truly hope you have enjoyed the first story following the beginning of Bryanna's journey.

I hope you enjoyed the last two chapters and will enjoy the last chapter in this cycle of updates!

* * *

 **Settling In**

* * *

"Good morning Miss Stark. It is ten o'clock AM, the weather in Malibu is 70 degrees-"

The voice jerked Bryanna out of a sound sleep and before she could even fully wake up she was on her feet with the lamp that she yanked off the bedstand and readied to strike.

"Hey Bryanna! Take a chill pill and please don't throw that lamp, it's just Jarvis, he's not a person and he isn't going to hurt you."

By the time Tony had a chance to speak Bryanna had already woken up and realized what was happening, her arms already relaxing as she lowered the lamp.

"Right, sorry I wasn't expecting to hear his voice so...yeah." Bryanna gave a sheepish shrug and Tony laughed.

"It's all good. Here, put the lamp back and get dressed so that I can take you on the grand tour. It killed me not to get to show you around yesterday when we arrived." Tony muttered.

Bryanna laughed and looked out the wall of windows at the ocean below. It was an amazing sight and so much more welcome then her room back at the headquarters.

"Hurry up!" Tony called before leaving her new room, door closing behind him.

Bryanna looked outside for another moment, soaking up the sunlight before turning to the boxes with her clothing and scrounging up a pair of grey sweatpants and a tee shirt that Natasha had found for her.

"Hey Jarvis?" She called, feeling slightly odd for talking to the air.

"Yes Miss Stark?"

"How about for future reference you don't wake me up with your voice. Just get rid of the black tinting and let the sunlight wake me up. Once I'm up and retrieving clothing or whatever you can talk."

"Very well Miss Stark, I'll be sure to do that for future reference." The AI said pleasantly.

"Thanks. Also, don't worry about the Miss Stark stuff. Please just call me Bryanna."

Once she was dressed she headed out into the hall and towards where she remembered the staircase being. Taking the stairs at a jog she made her way to the kitchen that Tony had showed her the night before.

"You found your way without trouble! Awesome! I have the most gourmet breakfast available to you...Froot Loops."

Bryanna snorted and accepted the bowl of cereal he offered as he poured a second bowl for himself. She was happy to dig in, not caring that it was only cereal. They both finished eating in relative silence, once they were finished Tony simply dumping the bowls in the sink and giving a quick clap.

"Sweet! Time to show you around!

With that he strode purposefully from the room, leaving Bryanna to chase after her brother as quickly as possible. He took her on a most dramatic tour, showing her around the upper floors with their bedrooms and the several guest rooms. He bypassed the main floor that she had already been given a tour of the main floor of the main wing.

"Wanna see my rec section?"

"Sure!"

He took her to another wing of the house, one that was slightly cut off from the main house. The bottom floor had an impressive bar, along with a pool table, comfortable seating, and floor to ceiling windows. Next to the bar was a fancy state of the art gym, complete with a sauna and lounge patio.

"Feel free to use this whenever you like. Also, the pool is always open."

Bryanna perked up, looking over at her brother with a grin.

"Did you just say pool?!"

He smirked and beckoned for her to follow, leading her out through a set of glass double doors onto the deck of the most beautiful pool.

"Oh yeah, I'm going to be living in this wing." She said distractedly, leaning down to run her hands through the water.

Behind her she heard a muffled snicker and turned just in time to see Tony's hands reaching for her as with a squawk she fell sideways into the pool.

"TONY!"

Her outraged shout echoed across the pool deck as Tony backed away, bending over and wrapping an arm around his middle as he laughed. Bryanna blew an errant strand of hair out of her face with an irritable puff, but couldn't quite hide her grin.

Even if her brother was an annoying brat, it felt amazing to finally be home like this.

* * *

Bryanna was sitting on the couch in the media room next to Tony chowing down on pizza as the final credits for the movie they had been watching rolled across the screen.

"Sir? You have a visitor waiting at the front door."

Jarvis's voice echoed through the room and Tony looked up.

"Who is it?"

"It's Mr Rhodes sir. It appears that he has returned early from his trip. Shall I allow him entry?"

"Yeah, let him in. Tell him to wait for me in the living room." He smirked as he looked over at Bryanna. "I have a little surprise for him."

"Very well sir."

Tony stood to his feet, setting aside the pizza box he had been holding and grinning wickedly.

"Oh this is gonna be fun. Let's go scare the crap out of Rhodey."

Bryanna followed willingly and Tony rubbed his hands together gleefully.

"Alright so here's the plan. I'm going to hide behind the wall just outside the living room and when I give the signal the living room lights are going to flicker and go out, leaving only the light from in the fountain and the fireplace. Then you are going to walk out there and just whisper his name before asking him if he missed you in this really eery tone. With your black tracksuit you should scare the almighty crap out of him."

"Why would I ask if he missed me?" Bryanna questioned.

"You might look older and more mature, but anyone who knew you when you were younger would recognize you now. Just trust me on this." Tony said with a grin.

"...I can't believe I'm doing this but fine, I'll do it."

"This is gonna be epic." Tony whispered, the two of them falling silent as they crept up to the wall.

"Jarvis, now." He just barely breathed.

But it was enough that the AI was able to follow the plan, lights flickering before going out.

"What the hell?! Tony, where are you?"

Tony looked over at Bryanna and gave a nod, the teen letting out a soundless sigh and straightening, slowly gliding through the doorway. He wasn't looking in her direction and didn't see her at first, not until her clothing rustled and he wheeled to face the noise only to let out a strangled shout.

"Wha-?!"

"Rhodey~ did you miss me?" Bryanna singsonged softly, allowing the light to reflect off her shadowy eyes.

Rhodey's eyes went so wide that they looked like dinner plates and in a turn of events that neither of them had considered in all their foolishness, her brothers friend lunged towards her, fist cocked back as his other hand grabbed for her.

Instinct took over and Bryanna dived sideways, flinging her hand out and sending the large man flying backwards with a single swipe of her shadows. He let out a shout as he went airborne, hurtling backwards toward the window. Cursing, Bryanna reached out and grabbed onto him with her shadows, accidentally tilting her shadows and causing Rhodey to slide down them before landing ungracefully on the floor.

"Oh my god Rhodey!" She shouted, running towards the man. "TONY! I think I broke your friend!"

Tony came bolting out of the hallway moments later.

"Jarvis! Lights!"

Bryanna reached Rhodey's side and dropped down next to him just as Tony came up next to her.

"I'm so sorry! I'm such an idiot, I didn't mean to do that!" She cried, poking and prodding him worriedly as he gasped.

"Dude, you alright? I can't believe I didn't think that you might react on offensive." Tony muttered, pulling his friend into a sitting position.

Rhodey opened his mouth and closed it a few times before pointing at Bryanna.

"I'm hallucinating. The mushrooms in my salad gave me hallucinations. Tony, I could swear I'm looking at a fifteen year old version of your dead sister."

Tony coughed awkwardly and Bryanna wrung her hands nervously.

"Um, I'm not dead so..."

Rhodey just stared.

"Currently I am in such a state of shock that I can't freak out yet. You have about three minutes to make your explanation."

"I was kidnapped by terrorists and had my death faked while I was their prisoner until the government rescued me months ago and forced my brother to keep it secret for investigative reasons but now I'm home." Bryanna said instantly, summarizing her painfully long story into a five second explanation.

His jaw dropped.

"You were a prisoner...of terrorists?!"

"Yup, she was also an experiment. And she has freaky weird shadow powers clearly." Tony added, openly gaping at her. "So when were you planning to tell me that you have MAGIC?!"

Bryanna did a double take.

"Wait, they never told you?!" She squawked.

"No! They said that you had some unusual abilities now, ones that were under control and that you'd share with me when you were ready!"

"Are you kidding me?! How the hell did they expect me to share that?! "Hey Tony, I'm a freak with shadow powers"?!"

Tony shrugged.

"That's as good as any a way!" Then he rocked back on his heels and scrubbed his face. "My sister is a freaking modern day Harry Potter. Unbelievable."

A slightly hysterical laugh pulled both back to Rhodey who sat there between them looking between them with wild eyes.

"Don't mind me, I'm just still trying to absorb that the girl that was like a sister to me that I though was dead is actually alive and sitting in front of me. Oh, and that she threw me at a freaking WINDOW!"

"...sorry about that." Bryanna muttered.

"Sorry." He echoed, shaking his head and standing. "I swear to god that you Starks are send me to the looney bin. Man, I need a drink."

Tony shrugged and slung an arm around Bryanna's shoulder.

"A drink can be arranged. You're probably going to need it for this story." Her brother said cheerfully, Rhodey groaning but following Tony and Bryanna as they started towards the hall.

"So does Pepper know about this?" Her brothers friend questioned.

"Yup, she was there when I got the news."

"How about Happy?" Was the next question.

"He met the day we got back. They seem to get along well enough." Tony informed him.

"And what about Stane, does he know?" His question sounded resigned, as if he knew the answer already.

"Yup, I called him when I was at the conference."

"Well why didn't you call me?! I might as well have been related to her with the amount of time I would spend with you guys, with the times I would pick her up from school on my way to meet you guys at your house." Rhodey snapped, clearly exasperated.

"You hadn't come back yet and as I recall the last time I disturbed you "at work" you had flipped and told me to never randomly call you when you were working again unless Armageddon had arrived or I was dying." Tony quipped, his comment making Bryanna snort.

"This isn't a random call! This is a call to tell me that Bryanna just came back from the dead!"

"If I apologize will that make it better?" Tony asked, smirking.

"No chance in hell. I don't forgive you, neither for not calling, nor for pulling that prank on me like that." Rhodey grumbled. "I forgive Bryanna, she apologized and actually felt remorseful, but you're a bastard that doesn't deserve my forgiveness."

Bryanna burst into laughter at his statement and Rhodey grinned slightly, reaching over to ruffle her hair. The three of them meandered to Tony's party room and over to the bar where Bryanna watched Tony and Rhodey get themselves drinks.

It reminded her of when she was a kid, watching her brother and Rhodey hanging out together.

It was comforting.

* * *

"Bryanna, your brother requests your presence downstairs."

The aforementioned girl looked up from where she was studying the screen of her new laptop. Her web browser was pulled up with several sites on bedroom design themes, Tony had been encouraging her to personalize her bedroom and she had finally decided to follow through on his advice.

"Let him know that I'll be right down." She called to the AI before closing her laptop and setting it on her desk as she shoved her feet into her new pair of converse and grabbed a hoodie off her chair on her way out the door.

On her way past the mirror she met her own eyes, smiling slightly at the sight of brown eyes looking back at her. The Shadow eyes she had now as a result of the experiment were just another thing that stripped away who she used to be, and when she had voiced that to Tony he had come up with the idea of coloured contacts. It had taken her a little bit of time to get used to them but now she wore them all the time. The only people who had ever really gotten a good look at her eyes without the contacts not including the agents back at headquarters were Rhodey, Tony and Pepper.

Pleased that her appearance looked relatively presentable she hurried down the stairs to the main floor, pulling her hoodie on fully as she reached the main floor.

"You wanted me?"

Tony nodded, gesturing towards Pepper who smiled up at Bryanna from where she stood next to Tony.

"Hey Bryanna, ready to go?" The woman asked.

"Yup!"

Today Pepper was taking Bryanna shopping so she could fill out her wardrobe a little bit. Normally she could care less about stuff like shopping but she was really looking forward to seeing some of Malibu right now, mall included.

"Just before you leave I need to talk to Pepper. Stay and talk with Obi for a few inutes or something." Her brother said before leaving the room with Pepper, their heads bent together as Tony talked in a low tone.

Bryanna's went from smiley to sullen in seconds and she heaved a heavy sigh before turning to the man she had been studiously ignoring.

"Obadiah." She said flatly in greeting.

"Hello Bryanna, how are you doing this morning." Obadiah asked pleasantly.

Bryanna narrowed her eyes in response and his smile became slightly strained.

"It's nice to see you without those sunglasses on from when I first saw you. Your eyes look just like your fathers, it's a shame to hide them."

Bryanna ignored him, deciding instead to amuse herself and see how long he could stand her staring at him wordlessly. She drained the emotion of her face, staring at him blankly with ramrod straight posture. He looked away, glancing around the room but Bryanna could see the rising tension in his muscles and smirked inwardly.

"Bryanna, why do you dislike me so much? Is this because of how I treated you when you came to me after your parents death? Please understand, I never meant to hurt you. Your parents death was extremely hard for me as well and I realize now that my behaviour, the way I almost took it out on you, was extremely wrong. I do apologize for that." Obadiah said, turning back to face her.

Bryanna blinked before snorting.

"I actually had forgotten about that to be honest, I'm surprised you even remember that."

"You forgot? That's really all I can think of that you might resent me for, I don't understand why you hold such evident dislike for me." Her father's old friend said, sounding mildly puzzled.

Bryanna's arms crossed and she could feel the shadows in her eyes behind the contacts churn.

"It's actually really quite simple. I know it was you who told the "social worker" that Tony wasn't qualified to care for me. It was you who gave her the writing on paper that allowed her to rip me out of my home legally and away from Tony." He opened his mouth to argue but Bryanna spoke right over him.

"I'm not a fool, I never was. I know what I saw, and the fact that Tony didn't see your silent exchange was only testament to where he was emotionally at that point. Because of you opening your mouth that Social worker who "just happened" to be working for the terrorist organization was able to rip me out and force me into that place of horrors for six years. I hate you for that, because the only reason you said something is because you wanted me out of the way while you groomed my brother into taking over the company. You wanted money, you never cared about me."

"Bryanna that's not true." Obadiah said quietly.

"Like hell it isn't. You are the reason my brother wasn't able to keep me, if you had never spoken up my brother could have fought that claim and prevented them from taking me, due to no reasonable evidence that their accusations were correct and instead placed the blame on them holding a grudge against my father and trying to further hurt our family. And because he has the money he does he would have been able to take that to court, I never would have had to leave his care." Bryanna spat.

Obadiah reached out towards her and Bryanna took a step back, throwing up her arm defensively and glowering at him.

"I won't tell Tony, because right now he relies on you and from what I've heard and seen, you seem to care about him too. I won't risk hurting that for Tony's sake. But I refuse to be friendly, or even fake liking you. Leave me alone, or you will regret it."

Seconds after the last word left her lips her brother walked back into the room laughing while Pepper rolled her eyes at him.

"Alright Bryanna, let's go. Abandon the boys to their fun." Pepper said with a smile, Bryanna returning that with a grin of her own as she breezed past Obadiah and fell into step with her brothers assistant.

"Have fun! Don't do anything I would do!" Tony called after them as they exited the house and headed to the waiting car where Happy stood.

"Ready to go?"

"Absolutely, thank you Happy." Her brothers assistant said, climbing in the back with Bryanna.

The doors closed and they pulled away from the mansion, Bryanna glancing over her shoulder at the towering structure before turning to the ocean and gazing out over the blue expanse.

Man, she loved her new home.

* * *

So what did you think? Reviews are welcome! Flames shall be laughed at, posted for others to laugh at, and ignored as I continue the story.


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